Leviathos’ Gambit had left two worlds deeply scarred. One may never recover, where the other would only just limp along. Morwen had to admit that she was more than impressed with Akamori’s rally cry among the beast tribes. Calling a temporary truce, they’d come from out of the forest and mountains to help with the cleanup and support. The Erynian’s however, were still reeling from the loss of a second Arch Priest in as many years.

It was fast becoming a position few wanted. Even the noble houses no longer vied for it as they once did. However, it came as a great shock when the people had chosen her to become the newest Arch priest. She’d never been religious at all. Even when her father was the Arch Priest. However, it was hard to deny that she was fast becoming divine now. With Aeryn’s guidance, she was no longer mortal anymore. Not even .

It was strange now, to be treading ground Akamori once had only a short time ago. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. He’d told her that divinity didn’t come with an owner’s manual. But it helped to have people who knew things. So she’d kept him in her back pocket, so to speak, whenever something occurred to her she didn’t know.

The Executor of Erlaut’s last will read aloud the proclamation declaring Morwen to be the next in line as ArchPriest, praising her skill as a warrior and a mage. She came from outside the noble houses, and had largely avoided needing to navigate Eryn’s political landscape, leaving her untarnished. This, Erlaut had argued, made her the strongest candidate to protect their people and lead them to the right path they needed for their future.

To call the uproar that followed as deafening would have been stating it lightly. It was clear that while none wanted the responsibility of being the ArchPriest now that the previous two to occupy the position were dead, they still coveted the positions prestige and power. The mere notion of being the ArchPriest and doing nothing to benefit their people made Morwen gag on bile. War as at their doorstep. There were no guarantees they’d even live to see the next sun, and already the vultures were circling high above to feast on the carrion of political ambition.

“SILENCE!” The executor shouted above the cacophany of voices.

Eventually quiet settled in over the arena like chambers. Morwen spun slowly to look at all the leading members of each noble house. She felt like she was on some kind of stage, up for offer or sacrifice.

“There is no time or space for debate in this matter. ArchPriest Erlaut selected his successor. Accept that it was not you with grace and move on.”

It was simple and sound advice, but Morwen knew that few would accept it. While none of them were willing to stick their neck on the chopping block themselves, she also knew it would be a hot day in the Umbral Plane before they’d accept her as their leader. She’d been slowly warming up to Akamori’s perspective of late, that all this bickering and posturing amongst the major divisions of the house would becoming more of a distraction than a help. Eryn could ill afford political upheaval now, and that bastard Erlaut knew she would do everything in her power to keep the people from tearing each other’s throats out.

The ampitheater drew quiet as the executor summoned the twelve houses down to begin the rite of ascension. Morwen waited, uncertain if this was still the path she wanted to commit to. She never liked the zealots of Eryn and the way they always seemed to fantasize about what Aeryn was like. Having met the dead god’s astral shadow clone only shed light to the lie that most had come to believe in even greater detail. Speaking of...

“ Chin up. You’ll never every ounce of power to win the war, and this will definitely give you a boost. ” Aeryn said with a grin.

Morwen glanced at her curiously and then around those gathered nearby. They were just far enough away to be out of immediate ear shot, and began chanting the incantations for the ritual as they proceeded to weave and sketch runes.

“Be honest with me. Do we have a chance?”

Aeryn frowned, folding her arms. Her gaze was distant and Morwen recognized the look as someone focusing on the Web of Fate and all its various threads of possibility. She remained silent for an uncomfortably long stretch of time. Finally she looked, her expression was grim, but hopeful.

“There’s a slim chance. But it’s only that. You’ll have to make the absolute best of it you can. But nothing is ever certain. Only how strong a chance it has.”

“In other words, give it our best and hope for the best. Not exactly my preferred method.”

Aeryn placed a reassuring hand on Morwen’s shoulder. She was surprised to actually feel the weight and warmth of the spectral woman’s hand. She drew some measure of comfort in that touch. Like somehow she knew things would be ok, even though right now her world was in absolute chaos. To say anything about the Sector itself.

“Trust me. It’s not the most uplifting advice. There’s too much left to chance I know. But right now? That’s all we’ve got. The bad guys really worked us into a corner, and there’s a small sliver of a snowballs chance in a volcano’s armpit.”

“Easy now. Don’t oversell it.” Morwen whispered dryly.

Aeryn smirked, giving Morwen a gentle nudge in the side. “Oh come on now. It’s not all so bad. Someday you’ll get to be a disembodied astral clone mentoring the next generation to fight the forces of darkness.”

Morwen glowered as the ritual picked up the pace. A sheen of golden white energy drifted up from the circle around her. A few motes of sparkling light, followed by more and yet more. It looked like a drops of brilliant magical light sprinkling up from the group.

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“I’d prefer to just stop them and be done with it myself.”

“And that my friend, is what we all hope ultimately happens. Failure means we may not get a second chance. The path that got us here was paved on the backs of many gods sacrificing themselves. A road made of bricks carved from the bodies of many greater than I.”

Morwen thought about that for a moment. She was just the latest player to take a seat at an ongoing game being played by those with minds far keener, and blades far sharper than her own. At that thought, she couldn’t stop the small grin that creased her lips. True, she had her faults. But where she lacked, the others more than made up for. They were as tight a squad as she could hope for. And gods help the poor soul that looked to get in their way and stop them from completing a mission.

“The road stops here. No further.” Morwen declared.

The ritual reached its peak, and gravity’s pull on her lessened. She felt herself drift into the air, as the magic swirled around her. Like a million golden fireflies that melted into her merging with her soul. Her limbs tingled with power. She struggled to keep her focus on the here and now as the web of fate and all its possibilities loomed in the distance threatening to overwhelm her sense of time. Morwen hissed, not in any real sense of discomfort, but just struggling to keep her under control.

“ Hang in there, kid. You’ll get the hang of it. The first time is always a doozy. ” Aeryn said.

She floated back to the ground as the ritual reached its climax and the Executor approached, handing her a staff that had belonged to Erlaut. “He wanted you to have this. He hoped that he’d never need to use it. May it serve you well.”

Morwen accepted the staff in her other hand. Rozien floating next to her like a guard dog. The staff was lesser than Rozien was by a longshot. It lacked an intelligence, and even its own magic was lesser in a way, but she sensed what made it so special. In his frenzy to sense the coming disaster that hit Eryn, he’d imbued it with the ability to read into the future deeply. With this weapon, she could peruse the web of fate far more easily. As though it were a simple spell scroll or dragon’s scale. She held it with reverence.

“Thank you Erlaut. I’ll do my best to honor your legacy and deliver our people safely.” She whispered.

A soft warm breeze teased at her cheek and smelled of honey and smoke. Erlaut enjoyed honey in his tea, and often smoked at a pipe. She missed the man deeply now. There was a time when the two had flirted with the idea of coupling. Before her commissioning in the newly formed Mage Federation. Before the War with the Sauridius. Before a dark shadow spread across the sector that ultimately split the two. He’d trained her, and recognized her potential, but had always felt she’d wasted that future on the war.

What future might her world have had she never left? Would he still yet live? Would she have been strong and smart enough to help stop the threat?

Again, the comforting hand on her shoulder and she saw Aeryn, but also Erlaut behind her. There was a sad, but proud look in his eyes. Morwen’s throat grew tight like she’d suddenly swallowed an apple. He gave her a confident nod, before regarding Aeryn one last moment.

“We can still save her, Morwen. She can still yet live. Bring her back. Save our people.” His voice whispered to her. Then he faded away as his soul passed on to the spirit plane.

As Erlaut faded from her sight, a tear fell down her cheek. She was tired, and overwhelmed by both the losses and gains. The exhaustion slammed into her out of nowhere and she swayed on her feet, bracing against the staff she’d been gifted.

“Whoa.”

“Easy ArchPriest. You’re weak from the ritual. You should get some rest.” The Executor said.

“Ma’am? Here. Let me help.” Arjun said and held an arm out for her to lean against. Arjun turned to Rozien with a nod. “Do the teleport thing, Rozien.”

“You got it.”

There was a flash of magic, and their surroundings were different. She was back on the ship. Safely inside her room. Arjun helped her reach her bed, and she fell down onto it exhausted. She wasn’t even aware of them leaving her in peace. As sleep overtook her, she found herself in the dream plane.

“Where...are we?” Morwen asked, turning to take in the semi translucent lavender landscape. It shifted and warbled as though it couldn’t ever settle on quite what exactly it wanted to be. A forest. A city. A dune swept desert. A canyon. The void itself.

“Think of it as a divine training room. I crafted this small space in reality as a kind of divine play ground for you to flex and home your skills. Time has almost no meaning here. So you spend as long as you need without sacrificing physical or mental alacrity.”

“Meaning I won’t get hungry or tired here.”

“Not that you wouldn’t have anyway now that you’re truly immortal now.”

“So what happens now?”

“We make the most of the time we have, and you train.”

Rozien appeared next to Morwen and she siezed the spell staff, twirling the weapon and assuming a ready stance. A mix of weaver and warrior styles coming into play. A form she’d keyed in on from Akamori. Ready for martial combat but capable of weaving a spell or two if need be. Where he could fight better than he could weave, she was the inverse. But now? She was ready to train better. Harder. She needed to be ready for when Ominek and Sauridius returned. Because she knew they would.

Ever since her ascension, there was something deep down that she knew. Aeryn’s grave held one final secret. The question she needed an answer to was what exactly it held?

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