It was the shuttering of the Ten Skies, caused by the constant lightning strikes, which finally caused Vaska to awaken. She jolted, then looked around the room in a daze before seeing Ingrid. After the lightning subsided Vaska removed her earmuffs and then reached for Ingrid.

"How long?" Vaska asked.

"Three days," Ingrid replied. "We are inside the Plane of Lightning right now. Your sister is here."

Vaska nodded. "My father waited until I was asleep before he sent her here. She took over, I am guessing?"

"Yeah. And now she took away my wings. She says I am terrible at dogfighting. After just one little mistake!"

"One mistake is what will kill you," Vaska said. She squinted. "Is that... Ashe? On your shoulder?"

Ashe flew off Ingrid's shoulder and landed on Vaska's chest.

"Natasha thinks that your light crystal was the spy," Ashe said.

"I purified the High Daughter," Ingrid said, "and then Natasha bonded her."

Vaska groaned. "Of course, I should have caught that." She moved to smack Ashe away with her hand but the Queen of Darkness escaped with her butterfly wings.

A nurse entered. "Do you need help getting her ready?"

"No, I'll handle it," Ingrid said. "Time to get out of bed Vaska."

A second lightning storm struck the Ten Skies once again before Vaska had showered, dressed and eaten. When they arrived in the map room, the main deck below was a constant flow of fighter jets. Airmen scurried about equipping new missiles, switching pilots, and repairing minor damage caused by the storms.

"At least three fighters had been lost because the pilots got disoriented in the rain," Natasha was saying as Ingrid and Vaska entered. "I have sent out messages to all the pilots warning that Ice-Two missiles sometimes malfunction in the intense steam. Sister, I am happy to see you are well. The rest of you are dismissed."

The men in the room, high-ranking admirals in the Taisian Air Navy, shuffled out in silence. Natasha walked up to Vaska and kissed her once on each cheek, then once on her forehead.

"I'm not a child," Vaska said.

"You take too many risks sister."

Vaska looked away, unable to meet Natasha's eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Enough of that, I have good news. Your design for a new fighter jet, and those hypersonic missiles, have tipped the battle in our favor. As you can surmise from the constant lightning storms, we have equipped the Ten Skies and the other airships with lightning cages and wicks."

Natasha pointed to a detailed map on the table.

"This is our current map of the Plane so far, and our scouts have discovered a structure here," she said as she put her finger on the map.

"It's definitely the Queen's palace," Ashe said.

"It is a castle at the top of a mesa in the middle of a lake."

"The Queen wants a good view of her creation," Ashe said. "I did the same thing with my own realm. My palace is in a dense thicket overlooking beautiful rivers of blood."

"Um.. right," Natasha said. "Either way, we have devoted all our resources to securing the airspace around this location. Elizabeth is doing a very good job. You have found yourself an excellent leader, Vaska."

"How long are you going to stay here?" Vaska asked.

"If you are asking when I am giving you back your fleet, the answer is never. The King of Taisia has already bent the knee to father, and there are plans in place to absorb the Taisian Air Navy into our new Planes Defense Force. Jelka has fallen and Great House Aria has been exterminated. Father is worried about the future and... he wants you away from the fight, designing new airplanes."

"I see," Vaska said.

"Your plan to bond a High Daughter of the Queen of Lightning was a good one. Once you have bonded your new Elementals, you must select a location for a new workshop immediately. In the meantime, Elizabeth will no longer follow your orders." Natasha looked straight at Ingrid. "There is work for you as well, Ingrid. We need to visit the Bank of Taisia and purify the Elemental there, once all the contracts have been transferred to the Bank of Heylin."

"Everything has been decided then," Vaska said.

"Even if Kanti has not officially declared war on the Empire, this is now a total war. The White Ravens are going to be performing in airshows across all the Elemental Planes, and the woman you found in the Plane of Wind, I think her name is Mia, is going to be leading the recruitment efforts there."

"The Federation will send people into the Planes to enslave the sacrifices," Vaska said.

Natasha sighed. "Then you understand the nature of this war. Do you have any questions before I leave?"

"When can I fly again?" Ingrid asked.

"The Left Wing has been promoted to Commander of the White Ravens," Natasha said. "You are the new Left Wing. You may have my fighter jet. The new commander will teach you how to fly in formation. Keep practicing with Ivan as well. However, you are too important to risk in military operations." She glanced at Vaska. "Take me to Heylin, please."

A shadowy portal appeared behind Vaska. She grabbed Natasha's arm and they both walked through the portal. "I'll be right back Ingrid," Vaska said. The portal closed, and they were gone.

Ingrid walked across the empty map room to the porthole and looked out at the White Ravens parked on the deck. One of them was parked away from the others, marked with the number seven on the tail. Natasha's, and now Ingrid's airplane. "That doesn't seem so bad," Ashe said, as if reading Ingrid's thoughts.

After about thirty seconds the portal to the Plane of Darkness opened again and Vaska stepped through, alone.

"Convenient," Ingrid said. "Maybe you could transport yourself to the enemy fighter jet factory and murder all the engineers?"

"The Firstborn's projection only works in places I have physically explored and understand," Vaska said. She approached Ingrid and then swatted at Ashe.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Hey!" the Queen of Darkness protested as she fluttered across the room and landed on the map table.

"Give us some privacy, Ashe." Vaska said. "Lock the door on your way out."

----------------------------------------

The starry sky was filled with fighter jets. Hundreds of fighter jets circled in a great swarm overhead as the door of the tilt-rotor opened and the Imperial Marines stepped through with their rifles. "Clear!" the commander cried. Ingrid stepped through onto the familiar, pale-yellow stone of the Plane of Lightning. Vaska followed, as did Ashe, who had abandoned her wings and stood the height of a normal person.

All around there were low depressions cut into the rock, and lined with smooth, polished stones. Teal, white, dark blue, cyan, arranged in dizzying patterns that gleamed in the light of the unseen sun. In those places clear water flowed, moved by an unknown force. The whole of the plateau was a great display of such fountains, with a white city in the center. The walls and gates of the city were made of the same material as those fountains.

Men in white robes waited for them at the gates. They wore no masks, and they looked to be in their prime, with dark hair and beards. They beckoned the Marines to approach. When they spoke, it was in no language that Ingrid could understand.

"They say the Queen is expecting us," Ashe translated. "We have been promised safe passage through the city. The men with guns are welcome inside the city as well."

"I admire the Queen's hospitality," Vaska said. Ashe translated this for the men, and they bowed.

All the buildings in the city were constructed with a uniform white material, with the texture of dried mud. Blockish and rectangular, they rose up in concentric rings toward the center, where a tower rose above the city. That tower appeared to be made from the same material as the fountains and the gates, shining stones of various shades of blue. There was no metal, no lightning rods, no wicks, no shelter from the rain, and yet the scouts reported that these elements evaded this plateau, as if it was shielded. Ingrid saw men in robes, solemn women in frilly dresses, and packs of screaming children playing in the fountains. Elderly people sat on the balconies to watch the world go by.

"Who are these people?" Ingrid asked.

"Worshippers," Ashe said. "These men must be very high-ranking worshippers, perhaps the leaders of this religion."

In the center of the city, there was a great staircase leading up to the blue tower. Vaska removed her high-heeled sandals before attempting the climb. Ashe simply grew wings and flew to the top. The Marines seemed to ascend the steps with ease. At the summit of those stairs, there was an opening to the tower's interior.

The tower was the same within as it was without, polished stones in dim hallways. It did not take long to find the balcony where the Queen awaited them.

Semicircular and lined with an ornate white rail, the balcony overlooked the lakes and desert landscape far below. The moon passed overhead, bathing the world in lightning as the group stepped out onto the balcony. Ingrid closed her eyes to not be blinded by the lightning storm. Nowhere on the plateau did lightning strike, and the resulting waves of steam from the boiled lakes seemed to flow around the space in a bubble.

The Queen turned to face them. With pale yellow hair arranged in an elaborate set of braids on her head, and wearing a pure white dress, the Queen looked very much like a human. The worshippers bowed to her, and then shuffled away in silence.

"A scion of House Maryy," the Queen said. Her voice was friendly, even motherly. "You must be Vaska. It is thanks to your efforts that normalcy is returning to the world, though I know not why you have decided to undo the efforts of your own ancestors."

"Marines," Vaska said. "Leave us alone on the balcony for now."

They saluted and then left.

"How much does your family remember?" the Queen of Lightning asked.

"Not much," Vaska said. "The Framers did not want their work to be undone."

"So I see. Thank you for coming to speak with me, Vaska. And this must be the sentient aspect of the power of the Queen of Darkness."

"Thank you for allowing me to enter your realm," Ashe said. "It is a beautiful realm. You have excellent tastes."

"You flatter me," the Queen said. "And you," she said as she looked at Ingrid, "are bonded to the High Daughters of the Queens of Fire and Water. Do you know the significance of this?"

Ingrid shook her head in silence.

"Allow me to tell you a story, though it is a story that the one you have named Ashe no doubt already knows. Before the creation of your world, there were seven goddesses. The goddess that became the Queens of Wind and Stone was the first to propose splitting herself in half to create a physical world. A second goddess, who became the Queens of Fire and Water, was the first to see the virtue of this idea and willingly joined the project. I split myself in half as well, to become the Queens of Lightning and Metal. Thus three goddesses crafted your world, and each Elemental Queen has a sister-self.

"The world was devoid of life. A fourth goddess later offered to join the project, splitting herself into the Queens of Life and Heaven. It was she who created the plants and animals of the world, as well as the perception of space and time, the order of the stars and the seasons. The beasts preyed upon each other. It was a violent time.

"The last goddess to join did so very late. She sundered herself into the twin Queens of Light and Darkness, thus bringing good and evil into the world. This allowed humanity to be created from the animals. The first humans to travel to the Elemental Planes built dwellings there. These dwellings were the predecessors of what you now call the Great Houses. House Maryy was created in the Plane of Fire, and it is one of the oldest. During that era, there were no Elementals. The one you have named Ashe was the first to create a High Daughter. This was the start of a new trend among the Queens.

"But I have digressed, the last two goddesses did not join to create this world, though one lingers nearby and contemplates doing so. It may come to pass that this sixth goddess will split herself into the Queens of Dreams and Spirits, creating two new Elemental Planes. For now, she only entertains the occasional journey of a mortal mind into her dreamscape, and endows upon those mortals the spiritual energy they use to summon Elementals. She rightly fears what was done to the Queen of Light, as we all do. Your ancestors tricked the Queen of Light into believing that she was a goddess once more. She has become delusional and mad.

"The seventh goddess has no interest in the mortal world. She is distant and aloof. What interests her is so alien that it would break the mortal mind to even attempt to describe it. So I shall show restraint. She has never touched this world and never intends to do so. It is best for mortals to pretend that she does not exist.

"And so concludes my story, however I neglected to mention one detail. That is, the special status that the Queens of Fire and Water have in this world. As the First Volunteer to join the Queens of Stone and Wind, she became an example for the ones who came after. The Queens of Fire and Water have the power to repair the Queen of Light, as you must have discovered already, for you have bonded an uncorrupted High Daughter."

"I understand," Ingrid said.

"You must purify all the High Daughters, and the Queen of Light herself."

"We need your help," Vaska said. "I wish to bond with your High Daughters, for the benefit of me and my engineers. We rely on their power in our weapons of war, our machines of flight. Do you understand this?"

"The warriors who soar the heavens in swift birds of metal. I know of such things. I have recently created a new daughter," the Queen said, "for the purpose of changing the outcomes of experiments, so that your scientists cannot discover the laws of electricity."

"So it is true then," Vaska replied. "There have been many scientists that complained that the laws of electricity seemed almost... malicious."

"It is true, and if I grant you access to my other Daughters, then it will necessarily mean doom for the other Great Houses."

"That is my ambition," Vaska said. "I admit this freely to you. My ambition is to see the destruction of all the other Great Houses. Releasing Ashe and purifying the Queen of Light were secondary concerns."

"Then why, scion of Maryy, did you choose this moment in time to betray your Framers?"

"The other Great Houses have grown lazy and fat relying on the contracts of the sacrifices. I am willing to take this risk, in spite of my terrible luck. You may think me mad."

"You have no more madness in your heart than what is typical for your kind," the Queen said. "I see your honesty, and I understand the scope of your ambition. I give you consent, then, to bond one of my Daughters. The Queen of Metal will do the same."

"It is done," Vaska said. "I have bonded both."

I wish to bond with you as well, said a voice in Ingrid's mind, a humming, drone-like sound.

As well do I, a second voice said, a cool metallic sound.

"I will bond both of you as well," Ingrid said.

"I wish to speak with the one you named Ashe in private, mortals. You have no other business here. Leave now."

They left then, and descended the great stairs of the Queen's blue tower with the Marines at their side. It was only when they arrived at the tilt-rotor that Ashe fluttered in through the door and landed on Ingrid's shoulder. What words passed between the two Queens, Ingrid could only imagine.