"He always thought that war was not Order, that conquest brought nothing but chaos followed by a mockery of what he saw as true Order, it was not one bad campaign, one bad battle, but the whole of it that began His descent into treason"
A Fallen God testimony of the events that brought upon the revolt against the All-Father by the Mad God.
Catarina Silverbrand was a bundle of anxiety as she waited for the Matriarch to ready herself for the reunion, her son was calmly waiting in his seat, reading some heavy tome of a book with a very intricate design on its cover.
"...Gods how does she keep pumping out fiction like this? without a blessing?" he whispered before noticing his mother staring at him "Yes Mother?"
"It's strange, seeing you having some muscle, never mind the fact you can fight on par with the best of the Kingdom" she spoke fast "War blessings are something else, I have my self-defense training as does your father who's quite good with the bow mind you but..." Catarina felt her throat burn as she ran out of steam.
Richard smiled "You wanna talk about it, mom?"
Damn that girl Catarina thought to herself as she closed her eyes, she sure did make her son sharp as a blade! "You are good son, not your father's level of good, but you nearly had me there"
Richard laughed "It is unfair to compare me to the old man, he could talk a demon into a trade route and outpost" he then stopped "Wait a minute he did that already didn't he?" Catarina nodded and added "Sure but he had support there, personally the agreement with those frost giants of the Imperium is my personal favorite of his deals, but I am biased due to the goods in question there"
"I still think saving the old trader's outpost in the south was his best work, commerce should always..." Richard began but an old woman, older than most at least stepped out from her door, looking ready to feast on good food.
"Help the community," the Matriarch said with small pride "You worry too much Catarina, surely the girl wouldn't mess up my dinner, now let's go for I am hungry and I heard she's a decent cook, something rare among High Nobles"
"Aye Chief, you can trust me on this, Lucrezia knows how to cook good food, same for desserts even if she's not that fond of dealing with eggs, according to her the smell sticks to the metal hand like glue," Richard said with no small amount of pride "I know we have meat but if you so wish I can ask for her pizza, it is simply divine" he finished the sales pitch and got a smile out of the old woman.
"I can attest to that Mother" Catarina said fearing her husband would grill the young woman a bit too much, given how protective he was of his son's free will "The pizza is something else"
The trio walked towards Catarina's house inside the greater Silverbrand complex, the enterprising woman had already renovated their humble abode to store exotic goods and Magi-Tech Lucrezia liked to pawn off to her, sometimes by the literal truckload.
As they neared the door the Matriarch's face lit up "Ah, I can already smell it, Gods be good young Richard, you found a noblewoman that can cook for once, incredibly rare my boy" A crackle worth of a witch came out of her mouth as the ancient woman made her way into the house's dinner table, she was greeted by a very homely sight of Stevan teaching Lucrezia how to operate some contraption of magical nature that could make any beverage cold in seconds.
A snap of the dutchess's fingers later and she was clean and proper, bowing towards the Matriarch and Catarina, the latter feeling her cheeks flush red at the sight, only to scowl as she watched her husband hold a laugh.
"Dear oh dear, seems the little girl has won over both in-laws, a born smooth talker this one" The matriarch sat down as Lucrezia gave the old woman a wink and said "It's only proper to make sure one is in good standing with her family honorable Matriarch" Lucrezia finished as Catarina laughed and spoke out loud "Enough niceties, it's time to eat everyone!"
And so they did, Lucrezia and Richard sharing a quick kiss before going around serving their elders food and drink, the Matriarch asked for a moment of silence as they ate, as it was tradition for the Silverbrands not to discuss important matters when a feast was in its starting stages, once said moment passed they began talking among themselves, Catarina was worried if her husband had been rude to Lucrezia but after grilling both for answers, found his part of the whole deal had been done without issue.
Catarina's ear perked up as she saw the Matriarch speaking with her "Please dear, grandma will do just fine, especially after going all the way to cook this rather hard cut of meat" Catarina felt a weird mix of emotions seeing the exchange "A sight not many have the privilege of seeing I wager, not only you did good work, it seems you even enjoy it" Catarina spoke and Lucrezia nodded once she finished half her plate.
"Aye, Saa'ryu often says I would make for a pretty good maid, but I do tend to space out every once in a while mid-chores, which knocks down my performance in her eyes" She smiled at the thought, the maid was a dear friend to her Catarina knew.
"Tis good, knowing how to do basic chores and cook a few dishes helps oneself in a myriad of ways" the Matriarch spoke " Often we had to deal with first and second-born nobles who lacked even the most basic of skills and for a long while much of the Silverbrand's finances were kept safe due to that side activity of our little enterprise here" the ancient woman forked more food as they talked about many things and nothing at the same time.
Catarina felt warmth to the entire thing she wasn't expecting, Lucrezia was positively irradiating energy in a way she couldn't believe the woman was capable of, while she knew the young duchess had good character, she always thought of her as someone more reserved in these types of situation, and yet here she was, cracking jokes, running food and being a sweetheart to her son.
"Impressive isn't it dear?" Stevan asked his wife "It's like a switch went off her head, I reckon this is her at her most open" The man always had a good eye for these sorts of things Catarina often said...
"She does miss family affection it seems," Catarina said "I wonder if the maid is aware of this, likely so but to do nothing?" she couldn't help but ponder on the possibilities, the why of it before Stevan snapped her out of her idle musings.
They were hushed by the Matriarch, not to spoil the mood when Lucrezia came with the desserts, cakes, and pastries aplenty as the people around Catarina ate with vigor and enthusiasm, by the Matriarch's behest they did not engage in any talk not related to Lucrezia's and Richard's relationship, with her son proving to be very much the picture of a bold and honest boyfriend, taking after his dad.
It was curious to Catarina how much attention the girl paid whenever Richard talked about this, she knew Lucrezia had a keen insight into people but Catarina felt how much she wanted to understand him, his world views, and such. Later she would learn from her son that Lucrezia while possessing said insight, felt awfully discomfort at the fact she didn't truly know him.
They ended the get-together shortly after, with everyone going their separate ways minus Stevan who decided to call it a day early and sleep, the man was exhausted from the little interrogation he had done.
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Hope felt the chilly air ruffle against her heavy weather gear, black snowfall from the skies as she walked through an enormous city made out of solid rock, the skeletons of an untold number of goblins littering the open graveyard as she chanted a silent prayer to the Fallen.
"...Ten minutes until the spell takes me back to Vermilion" she whispered to no one, this was one of her many solo endeavors to make sure she kept her strength up, especially against the barrage of spars Lucrezia had her doing of late.
"A mighty empire, reduced to nothing in a matter of hours" she spoke out loud as the history of this solemn place made something deep stir within her, much like the Orcs who the Sea Elves once enslaved, these long-dead goblins had fought a bitter fight against beastkins of the skies and seas, their war engulfing the entire third continent of the world ages past until the beastmen deployed a magical plague of untold proportions.
This event was debated to this day within the halls and temples of many a God, some more sinful members of the faith going as far as saying it was one of the many reasons the Mad God turned on the All-Father.
"Suppose I could ask Him, one of these days" Hope spoke as she found the place her current quest had her going, the objective was simple, locate the bones of Shaman King Okir, the last Emperor of the Goblins, apparently the man was already king before becoming emperor...
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She didn't find him in the throne room, nay the remains of the ancient goblin man were hunched over, holding a walking stick looking at gods knew how many dead skeletons in a courtyard, it was as the historians said, he died trying to help his people to the bitter end.
"Unbroken forgive me" Hope walked forth and pulled a grim-looking horn out of her backpack, it seethed and coiled around her arm as she chanted a vile necromantic spell that took her way too long to learn, even with Castra and her family helping, the horn became a sludge and with a final chant of the name of the Emperor of Goblins, Hope finished the spell.
The bones melted into the sludge, and from it, a mighty staff made out of ivory wood was born, Hope grabbed it and felt a whisper echo in her mind "Human, Daughter of the Grand Enemy, heed my words well, in your hands is the failed hope of my people, may it help you save the one who cares for you from certain death"
And there it was, Hope felt a shortness of breath and sat down at a bench she found. "One down, another one to go" she spoke out loud for the remains of the ancient goblin empire.
She heard a chime in her mind, time was up for the spell that brought her here, with fast steps she rushed to her starting point and felt the arcane weave wash over her, within seconds she was back to Vermilion standing in front of a group of mages, with a stern nod the mage in charge started chanting again and Hope felt her insides going haywire, for some reason, she couldn't help but feel like she was going to throw up, even after finding a spell that blocked such a thing.
With the sound of a finger snap, Hope closed her eyes and then opened them, she heard the sea waves crash against jagged rocks and sand "An island? But where?" with her Divination spells she began firing magic, together with miracles tailor-made by a consortium of divines that Kaine rounded up for near-perfect accuracy readings, Hope's mind blossomed into shades of color and for a moment she was one with the material plane.
"That never feels good, no matter how many times I use this combination of spells" she complained to no one as the location's name escaped her lips "Peace's End" She felt the bitterness in her tongue and imagined Richard's face morphing into his usual frown whenever he was irritated, something he shared with Arthur she had found after they all got together...
"Focus woman, no daydreaming today" Hope got to walking, finding remains of a fierce battle all around the beach, ancient banners of the great families from Vermillion, Orcish Warmasters, and Generals as well, this was the sight very few alive had the privilege of seeing. It was after all one of the last sites of battle from the great war that freed the Orcs from Sea Elf slavery.
"Where's the shield" Hope moved with purpose on her steps, the healing staff was one thing but if she could get that blasted relic... "Damn it all where is it!" she began firing more divination as despair crept along her back, its icy nails dragging themselves on her skin together with the heat and sweat, arriving at a fortification within a cave she saw many Knights's corpses blocking a hallway, pushing their bones aside she beheld the Relic.
The Sacred Shield was one of the relics the first king of Vermilion brought from the Imperium, capable of stopping everything in the mortal realm, it was the perfect counter against all evils that could harm the king, and yet...
"It's broken" The words left her lips as she grabbed the shards of the Relic, a spell? no this was something else "Powers from beyond the cosmos" Hope felt on her hand that unique dagger she had gotten from Lucrezia in their shared battle against the Queen...
"To think, damn it all I can't even flush out possible future readings!" She felt her emotions rise to her head, the Rage trembling inside of her soul as she begged for something to happen, for to someone come down and fix this.
A fool's wish Hope thought to herself, there would be no stopping what was to come, she knew that and this was but the final dot on that line, what she had to do now was make sure she would survive, and All-Father Willing, save Lucrezia as well.
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Vivienne stood in a deep meditative state on top of a raised platform, below her nearly 30 adventurers and dungeon explorers freshly bruised, burned, and broken from the trials of the capital's famous labyrinth, in her mind's eye she saw a faint outline of the complex Divine weave for the miracle she was about to perform, her faith interlacing with her mana as the air inside the room froze for a split second.
Gasps of relief and awe were heard, but the young woman paid no mind to them as her soul felt the ghostly presence of the Boy, the little man who fought alongside Lucrezia's shade to save Vivienne from her hell, His was a wrathful yet kind presence, it installed on her a greater sense of grit in a way that made her want to push herself to the very limits of her powers.
A warm wave exploded out of her own body as memories of her first kiss with Lucrezia blossomed, unshackled as they were her emotions had the opportunity of running wild for once, and her Divine Miracles reflected that sense of inner peace and fulfillment, to move on was truly hard and Vivienne herself often had spells of sadness, of rage and anger, alas with Richard and Lucrezia she would live a fulfilling life...
"...Lady Vivienne" a tall elven woman broke her reverie, Vivienne was once again struck at the beauty of this woman, Guild Leader Labrieli was not an easy woman to behold, or even be near without feeling like she was having a bad case of the shaky legs. Vivienne had asked Lucrezia about her and her beloved confirmed the elven leader was not using anything nefarious...
"My Lady, all adventurers, and delivers are fully healed, we once again thank you for this gesture" The woman bowed with genuine intent behind it "It is sporadic seeing someone so gifted in the art of benediction solely via Miracles, it takes healing mages years of training with doctors, surgeons and those learned in the ways our bodies work to even get at this level you are at" she extended her hand as Vivienne rose from the platform, both women walking towards a table and sitting down, ready to eat and drink.
"And yet I am once again forced to ask, why? what is driving you to push yourself this hard?" the question hung in the air for minutes as Vivienne ate and drank to fill, her body welcoming the nourishment with joy.
"A vision, of a friend, a lover dying" Vivienne spoke as she recalled the horrible dream, Lucrezia's body lay on the ground as blood pooled around her, she had a sad smile on her face as Hope's body shook in rage and Richard's was on his knees besides her, stunned. Kaine and Vivienne working tirelessly to undo the harm, Arthur commanding his Royal Knights...
"If thou wishes to save her, then seek strife, seek power, seek mastery over yourself and your abilities, only then will she live!" a voice spoke as the image faded from her mind, Vivienne didn't need to guess, that was an entity from beyond the cosmos, she knew the cold, the alien feeling her mind and soul experienced before, and yet this one wanted to save Lucrezia? why?
"...And so you sought to better your skills, push them to the utmost limit? Honorable" the Guild Master nodded in approval "If you are willing I have a proposition for you, it shall test you to the very limits of your healing powers, but on the same token, it could break you in ways not easily mended by magic and miracle both" she grabbed a small marble and channeled her mana into it "This is a Plague-Seeker, or at least a close approximation of the foul Sea Elven beast created by our dragon friend downstairs, of late it has grown too powerful and only a equality powerful healer can smite the fiend"
"Alone?" Vivienne asked and the Elf nodded.
"No need to respond now, take your time, rest, and prepare for you have time still it seems" she smiled "We have arranged a room for you should you need it as well. a token of gratitude for the good work you have done"
Vivienne nodded and asked for the room, Labrieli guiding her there in silence as the young healer found herself within a comfortable room, complete with climate control via enchantment work done to its foundation.
Being so close to the wonders of Magi-Tech, it was easy to forget about the enchanting art, even if by technicality Magi-Tech was closer to it than to pure engineering, of course, she and the others had often talked about the semantics of this issue with Lucrezia, and within their classes that dealt with the faith and its powers, it was a important part that many leaders of their faiths had to get it down right.
Vivienne centered herself on meditation, feeling her powers at work as the image of the foul beast flashed through her mind, and yet no good strategy made itself manifest, she had the means and the knowledge, plus the tools provided by Lucrezia...
What do I lack then? the young woman thought to herself, interfacing with her mana and divine sigil just behind her shoulder blade, seconds stretching into hours as her mind marched down in a steady rhythm, seeking a way to defeat the beast.
Deep in this state, Vivienne beheld a great battlefield upon craggy plains, her body suddenly floating upon a host clad in what could only be described as vengeful holy light, against it stood another host, smoke and fire cloaking them. A fierce battle ensured as the young woman watched in sheer horror atrocities being committed by the fighters and their leaders, it was not noble or glorious like Vermilian doctrine, no this was a fight to the death and total annihilation.
With another blink of her eyes, she was knee-deep in a river of blood, she saw the stygian affluent run its course, rising to the skies above her before falling to the earth below, a scream was heard and the young woman covered her ears, then she felt a great wave of force push her insides, as if the very place she was tried to kill her!
INTELOPER!
All around her, the voice of whatever entity was trying to contact her screamed bloody murder, she felt a profound sense of wrongness to the whole affair, as if to say her soul being here was not something they had in mind.
Silence, stretching to infinity as she waited for judgment but it did not come, instead a great pyre beckoned her to the center of the river's flow, its flames were purple and blue as Vivienne felt a power so overwhelming it was nearly enough to make her fall to her knees.
"___----___AID----___" Alien words that did not make sense to her ears bar a single sentence, Vivienne felt her mind snap back to her body, floating above her head was a shinning long sword, clad in white flame and steel, a pommel that depicted a dragon, and in its guard a single sentence.
"Ascalon" the name felt wrong, from it came a thick aura of death and destruction "But can I use it? My training with regular weapons is mostly the basics" She grabbed the weapon from the air and screamed.
Vivienne found herself in the middle of a fierce battle in some snowbound place, behind her back the whistle of some great locomotive roared as artillery both conventional and magic rained death from above, around her men and women, demons and kin of many a kind waged war so thick with desperation she could see it.
And then she saw it, the demon on top of his horse, First Prince Galius's smirk that was ingrained upon her very being thanks to his foul magicks.
"KILL HIM" A voice came from the blade, Vivienne's eyes shot wide "RIP HIM TO SHREDS," It said again.
And so she did, armed with the profane weapon from the terrors of the cosmos she tore into the man like a beast possessed, within her chest she felt a rush of blood so potent, so primal it was almost too easy to lose herself on it, for every slash and pierce he rose again until the blade spoke again.
"GOOD, RIP AND TEAR, FEAR INCARNATE, NO DEFEAT, NO SURRENDER, NO PRISONERS"
Vivienne returned to the waking world, blade in hand and a glint in her eye. "No Mercy"