Amelia smiled at her demon captain, feeling the aether inside her begging to be expressed, to be spoken. The pressure was unusual, reminding her of the few times she had flown on an airplane and how her ears would pop. Although, this pressure was across her entire body and felt… nice.
“Divine healing of Aseco.”
Warmth, love, and light exploded from her body, filling the space with waves of gold and blue. Amelia felt the aether pour out of her, and the atmosphere seemed to hum in satisfaction as it was saturated with energy. She could sense the spell seeking out the injured demons, wanting to fix them, to make them whole again.
Inside her, Amelia could faintly feel her aether reserves slightly reduce. It was of little concern though, the ridiculous base stats she’d inherited gave her a titanic amount of aether regeneration.
The last wisps of golden light dissipated, and silence filled the air. Two crimson eyes, situated under two very pretty horns were wide with shock, looking at her with an expression Amelia had come rather to enjoy. Her capable captain, being so tremendously capable and cool, quickly recovered.
“Put it down,” the captain's eyes flickered from her to her side, “Hillbrand,” she said softly, raising an arm.
Amelia turned her head and couldn’t stop herself from twitching. Pointing at her forehead was the barrel of a firearm, held in the hand of the medical officer who had previously been glaring at her.
“What did you do!?” The demon hissed at her, eyes full of suspicion.
Amelia shrugged. “What I was told. Healed them,” she said. “Mind putting that down? You could hurt someone…” She was running more than just the Ward of Thew, having stacked multiple defensive spells and cloaking them in turn. Keeping them up was only slightly slowing her aether regeneration.
Amelia knew instinctively that it would take far more than a mere firearm to kill her. As she was now, she suspected it was a coin flip whether she could take one of the ship's explosive shells straight on. When she was in her cell, her high perception had overheard Tomes talking about shooting her, in the head no less!
It was very rude of him! Centuries of racial conflict or not, didn’t they see how awfully cute she was!? Nevertheless, it had only caused her to double her resolve, she was determined to have the captain, Tomes, Dagon and the rest of the crew view her in a positive light! She loved demons! It was frustrating, if only she was in her game character’s original body, she was sure it would be much easier.
Or… maybe not. Amelia Thornheart the demonic dreadmage was more or less a demigod. Worship was something she definitely didn’t want!
The captain, her captain, put a palm against the firearm, pushing it gently to the side, and as she did, faint cries started to fill the room.
“I’m… I’m healed!”
“Praise the fell gods!”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore!”
“My horn… it grew back!”
“Captain,” said Hillbrand, still glaring at Amelia, “that was third circle magic, like nothing I’ve ever seen. You can’t hope to keep a mage like that captive, even if it’s you.” She emphasized the last word, no doubt hinting towards the captain's ability as a Speaker.
“That’s because she isn’t a captive, not anymore. I’m hiring her, and having her work under me. This human… is sympathetic to the cause.”
“Mmm, mm!” Amelia nodded furiously. “Demons are awesome! I like your horns!”
“Captain!” The medical officer protested, ignoring her comment, “There’s no such thing! She must be a church mage! A Republican spy!”
“She is not. I’ve verified it with a truth-finder. The uniform is something we gave her, it was all we had.”
“Furthermore…” came the now familiar voice of Anathor, speaking through the mounted head of some kind of stuffed bear, with boar-like tusks. “The ship believes in her… even likes her. She isn’t a threat, Hillbrand.”
“Captain…”
“Holster your weapon, Officer.” A sharp edge took form in the captain’s voice. A moment of hesitation passed, and the medical demon finally obeyed her superior.
“The crew won’t like this…” the demon said.
“Look around, Hillbrand,” the captain said, gesturing, “they’re damn healed! They might not trust her, I don’t need them to. I need them to trust me, and tolerate her. Nothing more. Can you do that?”
Hillbrand cast a look around the room. The demons that were previously minutes from dying were now moving their limbs, expressions of amazement and confusion on their faces. One demon was clenching their hand, their arm having regrown after just being amputated.
“… aye, Captain. I can do that.”
“Excellent work, soldier. Now, you.” The captain faced her with a stern, but thankfully not an angry, expression. “How’s your reserves? Are you able to do… that again? There are three more treatment rooms.”
“Yes! But, no need!” Amelia piped up, flashing a smile. She was feeling a sense of euphoria, an after-effect of not just the movement of her aether, but also the feeling of being able to heal so many! The feeling of doing good.
“No need?” The crimson eyes looked confused.
“H-Hillbrand!” A group of demons, dressed similarly to the medical officer, came pouring through the doorway.
“What was that light!? The others…”
“No need!” Amelia said again, not being able to stop herself from sounding a little smug.
“I did them all!”
The captain blinked at her.
“I did the whole ship!”
“… Oh, dear…” Anathor quietly said in the background.
image [https://i.imgur.com/0ETpTo1.png]
They returned to the captain’s quarters, Serena having hurried her back after Amelia had turned into a miniature sun. The captain had told Anathor to instruct Tomes that she would be late, explaining to Amelia that it was time to lock her down.
Serena sat in the captain's chair, while Amelia awkwardly stood to the side. She had suspected her little act of healing had somewhat impressed the captain more than she had planned, giving Amelia pause as to what level a typical human healer was supposed to be working at.
The healing branch of Aseco was one of the more powerful paths, boasting excellent healing spells, moderate defensive capabilities, and even a few holy lightning attacks. While she could attack, Amelia had decided to avoid that if possible. She would be a healer, not a soldier. Besides, if it really came down to it, she had far more powerful Words from the combat branches of the demonic gods that she could Speak.
The captain was reading over Amelia’s contract and the room was quiet barring the occasional shuffling of paper. Eventually, Serena put the paper down, before writing something on a note and showing her.
“Do you know what this is?” She asked Amelia.
It wasn’t English, nor was it the Imperial script she wanted to learn. Its lettering was sharp, with many jagged and vertical lines. She had never seen this before. Amelia told Serena as much.
“It is the language of the Words,” the captain said, “a phonetic language so that the Words of power can be communicated across the barriers of language and culture. This is one of the First Words; Aseco. This is the one you can Speak, yes?”
“That’s right!” Amelia wouldn’t lie to her captain, but until they had a better relationship, and more trust between them, she would avoid sharing that she could do far more than just Speak one word. “What Word can you Speak?” she asked, curiosity forcing the question out. There were a few candidates in her mind, Amelia suspected the captain was following the path of one of the demonic sword gods.
“The first rule of being a Speaker, keep your cards close to your chest. You are far too willing to answer questions about your abilities, and to use them,” Serena said, pointing at her. “You should have healed everyone one by one, with a smaller individual spell, like when you healed me earlier. Word is going to get around about this. It will reach the ears of my superiors. Even if everyone finds out that you’re a Speaker, do not be forthcoming with information about your Word.”
“But, depending on the spell, and when you Speak, everyone will know the Word immediately!” Amelia protested.
“And until that moment, no one will know you’re a Speaker unless you’ve told them. The element of surprise can be the difference between victory and defeat. Many Speakers on the front-line constantly change their appearance, or blend in with the common soldiers.” Serena sat back, looking thoughtful. “I will have Tomes act as your tutor in more than just Imperial. The language of the Words, the things you should know as a Speaker yet do not… he will teach them to you, as far as his duty permits him. That is the first clause of the contract.”
“Okay! What else?”
“I will teach you the sword, to the best of my ability. Much of it will depend on your own talent. I am a busy demon, but will try and find time for you at least bi-weekly in this matter.”
“Cool! I can’t wait!” Amelia gave her two enthusiastic thumbs up.
“I will pay you twelve hundred denarii monthly. One of my foot soldiers receives a salary of eight denarii in the same period, so you are being valued equal to one hundred and fifty soldiers,” Serena paused, “…but, given your display just now, we will revisit this at a later date. There is only so much of my estate I can use without permission from my family head.”
Oh? This was something new. Her captain was becoming more and more interesting.
“Family head? Estate? Are you nobility?” She asked.
“Yes. You should refer to me as Lady Halen in private, and as Captain when on the ship…” Serena raised a finger, “Actually, refer to me as Lady Halen at all times. It will reinforce the notion that you are working for me, as part of my personal retinue that I have the privilege to establish as a noble, rather than part of the crew.”
“Halen? Your surname?”
“My family name, yes.”
“Mmm… Serena Halen. Serena Halen…” Amelia rolled the name around her tongue. It was a lovely name, fitting for such a beautiful demon with such magnificent horns. “Serena Halen… Serena Halen…”
“Stop saying my name.”
“Yes, Lady Halen!” A question popped up in her mind. “What family do you have? Any brothers or sisters?”
“There is the patriarch, my father, my mother also. I have two younger sisters.”
“No brothers?”
“He died during the war.”
Oops! She didn’t want to bring up any bad memories. Amelia tried to give a sympathetic look but was interrupted before she could say anything to ameliorate the suddenly chilly atmosphere.
“Tsk! We are going off track!” Serena jabbed the paper in front of her. “Here are your obligations, you are, within the bounds of being reasonable, to provide your services of healing to my battalion. You are on call, always, and must have my permission to leave my service or the ship. You have no obligation to partake in battle directly, although if I request it you will provide your services on the front line, where every effort will be taken by myself to ensure your safety. And…”
Amelia tilted her head as Serena trailed off.
“… you are not to provide your services to the enemy, nor render them aid in any way or form, magical or otherwise.”
“Hmm…” Amelia said, placing a finger on her temple. “I refuse!” She expected Serena to have an outburst, but was surprised to find her silent, looking at her calmly. When the captain made it clear she was waiting for more, Amelia explained; “I spent years in bed, mostly immobile. I’m not going to let the same fate fall upon anyone else, demon or human! I’m not going to stop you fighting, I won’t get in the way, and I won’t run off without telling you, but I will heal whoever I want if the opportunity arises.”
She examined the demon, surprised to find her nodding to her explanation.
“I expected as much. The rest is acceptable, though?”
“Yes!”
“Alright,” Serena scratched out a line on the contract. “I can only request you give me the heads-up before you render aid to humans, if possible. As for your title, you will be listed as a maid in my service, for I do not dare to give you a higher title, lest it cause even more problems for my estate and family.”
“And the uniform!?” Amelia asked, she was very excited to have a maid uniform, a real-life cosplay! The captain gave her a look up and down, prompting Amelia to give a quick twirl.
“We will find something less… Republican. Regardless, you will not have to do any actual maid duties. Such things as cleaning and cooking are beneath the status of a mage of your caliber, let alone a Speaker.”
“But I like cleaning! I can’t cook but… I’d like to learn!”
“Ridiculous… well then, if you are seen cleaning, it will only help sell the idea to the crew,” Serena said. “If there is nothing else, sign here.” She turned the paper towards her, along with a pen. Amelia bent down, looking for the dotted line.
“One more thing…” she trailed off, “where will I be staying? Sleeping?”
“With me,” said the captain, “we’ll set you up in my private quarters. Putting you with the crew would never work, and I’d rather keep you close by lest you get into any more trouble.”
Amelia immediately signed the contract.
“All done!” she said, feeling her cheeks go red. If Serena saw, she didn’t say anything. “Anything else I should know?”
“Yes… as a maid, as a civilian under me, you are not subject to military orders, only my own. As per the contract and my order, you will accept requests for aid from any demon on this ship, but should any of my battalion try and order you in some way that conflicts with my own, you may ignore it, and report to me the event.”
“Okay!”
“Furthermore, as a civilian, you are not permitted to just stroll about the ship. Most areas are off-limits to you, unless your obligations require you to go somewhere, then you will not. The bridge is off-limits, as is the entire first deck, on which the turrets are mounted. Other than when you need to exit or enter the ship, there is no reason for you to be on the first deck. There should also be no reason for you to be on the second deck, the crew's quarters, unless you’re being taught by Tomes. The third deck contains the medical bay, mess hall, and kitchens. I imagine some of your time will be spent there. The fifth and sixth deck, cargo and munitions, I can’t imagine much reason for you to ever go there... unless I’m putting you in a cell again.”
“What about the fourth deck? You left that out!”
“Hmm…” the glassy eyes of the moose’s head glinted as Anathor spoke. “The fourth deck is off-limits to all, even the captain.”
“Off-limits? Even for you?” Amelia asked Serena.
“Yes. I wouldn’t concern yourself with that, put it out of your mind,” Serena said, but Amelia couldn’t help herself.
“What’s on the fourth deck? Anathor?”
“Hmm….” Said the moose, but was no more forthcoming.
“As I said, do not concern yourself with that. You will come to understand that this is more than a normal ship. The Vengeance is special in more ways than one.”
“How… frustratingly mysterious!” She cried out, throwing her hands up.
“Amusing,” said Serena, “for you, calling that mysterious, you, the biggest bundle of mystery that might have ever befallen Cascadia. Ha! What a crazy human you are!”
“In the very flesh!” Amelia proclaimed, giving a little bow. “At your service!”
“Silly girl...” the captain said, shaking her head. Amelia only gave a grin in response.
“Captain! I mean, Lady Halen! I have a request!”
“… what is it?”
“I want to go outside!”
image [https://i.imgur.com/0ETpTo1.png]
Amelia stood awkwardly next to Serena. They were in some meeting room on the first deck, and the captain had dragged in every single officer, along with most of the squad commanders.
A semicircle of six to seven-foot demons, all looking at her with suspicion. Their skin had a range of colours and hues, some demons, like Serena, were mostly pale, with subtle patterns of reds and oranges. Others were darker, with deeper grays and blacks. Their eyes were all in some range of red, orange, or yellow, although none quite as crimson as the captain's.
Their horns were equally varied. Some were thick and curled, like a set of ram's horns, others were straighter, like goat horns. There were single horns, pairs, and triples, and some demon’s heads had so many horns it was basically hair.
Serena explained the situation to her staff, leaving out several key bits, she made sure to emphasize how Amelia was not part of the crew, and very much under her orders and control, and yes, that healing light that spread throughout the entire ship was something she ordered. They had agreed at appropriate times Amelia would pipe up with a quick “Yes, Lady Halen!” before zipping her mouth and keeping her eyes on the floor.
She had been told not to act like her usual cheerful self, and try and be… submissive.
Several officers had protested, most strongly amongst them was a squad commander called Korvus, which Serena had warned her about, telling her to avoid him at all costs. The room had become heated at times, at one point it seemed she might even be attacked, but Serena spooled up her aether, leaking power and intent, and that had quietened it back down.
The captain had emphasized that as a part of her personal retinue, an attack on Amelia was an attack on her, and her family. That statement had seemed to cool the room even further, although the demon called Korvus never took his eyes off her.
Surprisingly, Hillbrand had supported her, despite pointing a gun in her face earlier. The medical officer gave a report on how Amelia had saved the lives of more than a dozen demons, and how a further two dozen could immediately return to work, instead of spending weeks recovering or being dismissed entirely. This prompted a short discussion amongst the officers, as they discussed how such rapid healing could open up a new range of strategies.
After that, Serena had dismissed them and led her to the deck of the ship, where a walkway lay for them to cross to the battlements of what Amelia now knew as Port Highland, a location they had captured in the battle just past.
On the deck, Amelia stood with her arms wide, turning on the spot, feeling the wind through her golden hair, not caring if the demons in the bridge could see her. She was outside! When had she last gone outside the hospital? To feel the wind?
“Watch yourself!” Warned Serena, as she strayed close to a gaping hole in the deck.
“Was this… that explosion from earlier?”
“Yes. There used to be a turret here. We’re patching it up now but will need to travel south, to a proper air-dock, to replace it. A month of repairs, maybe more.”
“I see…” Amelia cast her eyes south, across the deck, to the open ocean of air and space that spread as far as the eye could see. Above her, she could see layers of cloud, and below her an endless field of orange, that seemed to glow softly.
“That is the lumina, the foundations of the world.”
“What’s beyond it?”
“No one knows. We refer to that place as the under-sky, it’s where we deliver the bodies of the dead, so they may explore the great unknown, in our place.”
“It feels… weird. It’s not natural, is it?”
“No, it’s magical. It disrupts aether. Even a Speaker would not survive a fall into it, although the ship protects us from most of its effects.” Amelia had already been made aware of one of the unique aspects of the Vengeance, its ability to sail into the lumina and not be destroyed.
Really! This ship was getting more and more mysterious! She made a mental note to uncover its secrets in the future, should the opportunity arise.
“And the islands? How do they float?” She asked, gesturing to the enormous pieces of land that impossibly floated with seemingly no sense of propulsion.
“Tens of thousands of years of moon rain saturated the land with moon crystal, which reacts with aether to produce a lifting effect. This reaches equilibrium between the lumina at the bottom, and the lighter aether at the top, and the islands maintain a stable level, depending on their weight, and the density of crystal within their earth and rock.”
“Is that also how the ship… sails?”
“Yes,” Serena nodded. “The same phenomena, trapped and utilized by the brilliant minds of inventors and engineers. The ship has two engines, a lift engine, that uses aetheric combustion to generate lift, and a propulsion engine, which uses the same to generate heat, to boil water into steam and drive the propellers.”
“Wow… it’s all so… so cool! We didn’t have anything like this from where I’m from. Instead, our aircraft only had a propulsion engine!”
“Oh? Then how did you sail? How did you generate lift?” Serena asked, sounding very interested.
“We didn’t call it sailing, that’s what we called ships that lived only on the water, on the seas. We called it flying. If you put large wings on a ship…” Amelia punctuated this by spreading her arms, imitating the wings of a plane, “… and those wings are shaped in a certain way, and you apply enough propulsion to the aircraft, then the wings themselves generate lift just by how they hit the air!”
“Yes, I’m familiar with this, some gliders and lighter craft use that method, although larger ships are too heavy for it, hence the lift engine.” Serena paused, seemingly thinking over some words. “Not now, but at some point in the future, I would like to discuss your old world with you. I still have so many questions, especially about your technology.”
“Mmm, sure thing!”
“Come now, let us walk.” Serena led them across the walkway. Amelia had to resist closing her eyes. She wasn’t the biggest fan of heights, and she certainly didn’t want to fall into the lumina. If she did happen to fall, there were Words she could Speak that would give her flight, so she wasn’t too concerned.
Together they walked along the battlements, occasionally passing demon soldiers standing guard, while other demons seemed to be examining and repairing some of the destroyed artillery. The conversation had hit a natural lull, and Amelia took some time to look over Port Highwind.
It seemed to be somewhat of an industrial town, with many warehouses and storage locations. The buildings were mostly red brick, but some sections seemed dominated by timber houses with whitewashed walls and clay tile rooftops. This, she figured, was the residential district and as they continued to circle the port, an area that looked to be some kind of town square or marketplace came into view and as it did Amelia couldn’t help but frown.
The occupants of the port had been penned into the town square. Amelia could see soldiers bringing civilians from across the port to the central location. The humans were surrounded by demon soldiers who stood guard on the ground and the rooftops overlooking the area.
“The civilians,” intoned Serena, “and soldiers who surrendered. We can’t just let them do as they like in their own houses, planning any possible insurgencies. At least, not until a proper policing force comes in.”
“I see,” Amelia said, stopping. They both watched the area for a while, the warm sun beating down upon them. “What will happen to them?”
“The soldiers will be taken as prisoners of war, and the civilians, once vetted, will be able to return to their old lives, with some restrictions.” Serena hesitated, before opening her mouth again. “If instead, I said I would execute them all, civilians and soldiers alike, what would you do?” Amelia met those crimson eyes with her own.
“I’d stop you!” she said, raising and tensing her bicep.
“Oh?” Serena mused, a quizzical hint of amusement forming on her face, as she raised an eyebrow. “A Word from the healing branch of Aseco, even Spoken by a talented Speaker, is still only a Word of healing. Do you think it would be enough, to stop me?”
Amelia flashed a cheeky smile. “I have some tricks up my sleeve, I think I could manage it, if I needed to.”
“Is that so?” Serena asked, “And what tricks would these be?”
“I’m not going to tell you! So don’t ask! A Speaker keeps their cards close to their chest, remember!?”
“Huh, would you look at that? The human can learn.”
“Hey! I’m very studious!”
“You still made the mistake of hinting towards the existence of further capabilities, now I’m thinking all kinds of thoughts as to what those could be,” Serena said, placing a finger on her lips, a mock expression of thoughtfulness on her face.
“Hmmrph!” Amelia exclaimed, crossing her arms, and turning away from her. Secretly, she was glad, glad that they could already talk this casually. Amelia suspected that amongst all the demons, Serena had a much higher tolerance of humans than most.
A thought cropped up.
“Lady Halen,” she said.
“Yes?”
“Since I’ve healed all the demons, I’m going to go down and heal whatever humans I can. Would you like to come with me?”
“I… see. I will come, for until you’re better trained I fear what problems will arise if I leave you alone. Very well then.”
Together they made their way off the battlements, towards the first group of humans Amelia had ever seen since coming to this world.