Despite all the help magic could provide and the relatively portable nature of their cities and resources, the Four Winds still took a full month to fully relocate to the second circle. Once the relocation was finished, they also officially renamed the community to the Five Winds Alliance, welcoming the wolf tribes as a new full partner. Even with all of their possessions easily moved, it would take even more time to find the perfect places for everything they had, and also to finish the new building projects the area required. Shioko was especially busy as she led some of the earth mages to build new fortifications on the borders of their new territory.
To the chagrin of many of her friends, Dee did absolutely nothing to help the process along. The problem wasn’t really so much the fact that Dee wasn’t doing her part, as she had done much to help them gain the new territory in the first place and the others knew her talents lay more in the area of destruction and death rather than construction. The problem was that the others felt annoyed by the fact that she seemed to be lazing around while they all had to work.
Dee, of course, wasn’t really the type to just laze around. She was simply focusing on other things. During the time she slept, she was being trained by the deities in holy magic. During her waking hours, she was focused on both absorbing the power Selvaria had left her, as well as figuring out how to get the most out of her abilities. She still found new things that had come as a result of her elevation to immortality. The only real way to find out many of these things was to try them out, so she was running thousands upon thousands of small little tests every day.
One of the most interesting things she found out was that the psionic weapons she created now seemed to possess mass if she wanted them to. Previously their effectiveness had completely relied on the sharp edge, strengthened by the first skill she ever learned as a psion, combined with the speed she threw them around. That and making them explode of course. A weightless but extremely sharp blade made of psionic energy could cut pretty well. A gigantic blade that was not only sharp and moving fast but also weighed as much as a mountain cut even better. She was slowly coming to the realization that a weapon like that would be better than any sword made of metal that she could use, especially since she could mold the psionic weapons into any shape and size she wanted. Or it could be if used correctly.
Another thing she noticed came when Nyx finally dragged her to help with constructing some of the new buildings they needed. “Even if you aren’t a craftsman, at least you can lift things around with your psionics and swing a hammer.” The diminutive Meilin stated angrily while dragging Dee around.
Dee was less interested in the idea. Working for hours and hours on constructing buildings didn’t really appeal to her when she had, in her opinion, more important things to do. She also happened to be hungry at that moment and Nyx wasn’t listening to her requests to swing by a restaurant or a canteen. As the two arrived, the builders were discussing some of the finer points of how to do the project as many of the elements were extremely heavy and would require special care when lifted and fitted into place.
Dee looked at the blueprints and noted that the foundation had already been laid. Most of the materials were already cut into the right shape and size, and all that was required was the assembly of the mostly wooden house. The plan seemed relatively simple in her eyes, although the workers would have argued otherwise for various logistical and weight distribution reasons. The others seemed busy so with a shrug of her shoulders she set to work. Thousands and thousands of invisible hands grabbed every piece, screw, and nail and lifted them into place.
It was perhaps the first time in the history of Pantheon that a complete house was built from parts in less than thirty seconds. All the pieces floated and fitted into place, held there by the invisible hands that could turn immaterial enough to pass through the solid objects when required, and suddenly every nail, screw, and bolt shot into place at the same time. Dee took a look at the painting supplies nearby and another glance at the plans and gave another shrug. Suddenly tiny little droplets of paint from four different color shot around the house and was placed just where it was needed. No need for brushes, rollers, liners or tape. She had to make slight adjustments as some pieces of wood absorbed the paint better than others, and she had used a bit too much paint in other places, leaving the paint a bit runny, but those corrections took less than ten seconds to implement.
The others were just staring as she finished. “Anything else?” Dee asked she turned around. The builders soundlessly rushed to check her work of course. They couldn’t just rely on everything working as it should without checking. That ultimately ended up being unnecessary though. Dee might not be a builder, but she was a psion. There was nothing wrong with her ability to follow instructions.
“Since when did you have enough control to do that?” Nyx asked while narrowing her eyes.
Dee shrugged. “My control is constantly improving. Ever since I learned the trick with invisible hands, things got a lot easier. When I became immortal, things just fell into place. My power was no longer too thick to handle delicate work. Instead, it was just right. I can’t say when exactly it was that I got enough control for that,” She thumbed towards the house. “since I’ve never tried it before.”
The builders rushed out as they finished their check. For them, it would have taken hours or even a full day to finish with just a handful of them working on the project. There’s really something that could be said for thousands of hands working on a project at the same time, even if those hands were invisible and controlled by a single person. “Can you do something like that with something a bit more complicated? Maybe something that requires stone or laying bricks? Could you do carving and finishing work as well?” They all asked in turn, bombarding her with dozens of different but increasingly detailed questions.
“Whoa, just wait a minute. The answer to all that is yes, assuming I get a bit of practice. I’m not doing anything before I get some food though. The cruel and nasty Meilin standing over there didn’t allow me to get lunch!” Dee feigned grievance while pointing at Nyx.
Once the builders had stuffed enough food into Dee, the amount of which truly shocked them as Dee ate as much as ten of them, they started to run a series of tests. Finally they figured Dee could handle almost any such project in less than an hour, not including the time spent waiting for something to dry or set, which they could speed up magically. There was no real upper limit on size, as there was really no difference to Dee whether she was working on a mansion or a small cottage. The only limiting factor was the amount of detailed work required that actually needed skill as a craftsman. Dee might be good with her psionics, but she was not an expert woodcarver for example. She also had no eye for most artistic work.
Nyx took great pleasure in finally being able to force Dee to work on something and was just about to call everyone else to watch when Dee announced that she would only work if she got to order Nyx around as an assistant. Nyx, of course, protested in outrage but was overruled by the ecstatic builders, or more specifically their wives, husbands, and families. Without Dee’s help, the builders would spend the next several months working from morning until night to get everything completed in a relatively acceptable timeframe, and they would not get to spend any time with their families. With Dee helping, everything got done much quicker and the builders got some family time. So Nyx was forced to carry around random and usually useless objects for Dee’s amusement and pleasure. Also, she was tasked with making sure Dee got properly fed as the builders were not stupid enough to take on that responsibility again.
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Rahmiel felt a little weird hiding her identity. Usually she was proud of her heritage and her position as the Archangel of Mercy was something that even their enemies looked favorably on. The Archangels of Valor and Order were often disliked by their enemies, but few people disliked what Rahmiel represented. Those that didn’t know her might think of her as weak or soft, but that was their misconception. Mercy didn’t always mean letting others go and helping everyone. Mercy towards many might mean cruelty towards few. There was also an old saying about mercy towards enemies being cruelty towards your loved ones. So she didn’t represent unconditional mercy. As for being weak? One couldn’t become an archangel without having strength.
Despite what she was used to, now she had little choice. Her presence on Pantheon would draw too much attention, and not all of it would be friendly. In fact, most of it would be decidedly unfriendly. Majority of the inhabitants or their forefathers had come to Pantheon to get away from Angels and the other parties in the War in Heavens. An archangel like Rahmiel represented everything they wanted to avoid. In many cases, she also represented everything they had lost. And that’s without considering the fact that she didn’t want to draw attention to where she was going.
Her daughter Araqiel was leading the way as they traveled over a fairly long distance in the second circle of Day city. The duo was moving extremely fast, but the distances in Pantheon were really long as always. The two couldn’t appear using the teleportation circles of the Five Winds as they were too closely monitored at the moment. So they had to use one of the abandoned scattered around the less used areas of the second circle. Many a city had fallen in the second circle over the years, leaving the teleportation stations behind. That meant they had to travel over most of the length of the new territory held by the newly renamed Five Winds community. Their target was the new headquarters near the mountainous edge of the territory, which was unfortunately on the opposite side of the newly conquered area. There might be many abandoned gates but they were not usually conveniently placed. Otherwise they would not be abandoned.
Once they finally did reach the new headquarters, the two floated in place considering how to proceed. If they simply walked in, there would have been no point in hiding their arrival in the first place. “You have more experience with them. How should we approach?” Rahmiel asked her daughter.
“Assuming we only want to meet with the target?” Araqiel confirmed.
“For now at least. That may change later, but let’s aim just for her for now.” Rahmiel confirmed. Depending on the circumstances, they might need to make contact with the community as well, but that was for later.
“I think we should assume the form of the Jun walking into the city. They are closest to us in appearance and we don’t need to change much. Then we just walk towards the target. She will notice us before we get all that far.” Araqiel suggested.
“I assume you have a basis for this guess.” Rahmiel didn’t really ask as much as state her opinion.
“She recognized me immediately last time.” Araqiel replied with a shrug. “I was hiding my wings and halo, yet she still saw through me easily.”
Rahmiel made a small thoughtful humming sound. “I think she has some ability in the technique used by the Assembly. They can see the power inside other beings, although she seems to be really good at it if she can see inside people that easily.” Most of the top experts of the Assembly could read spells and techniques. Really good ones could read the basic flow of power inside enemies to predict their actions. Only the best ones could use that flow to recognize people and races. The angels had tried to steal the techniques with very limited success.
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The two did as Araqiel suggested and faced no questions when entering the city. While the teleportation gates were heavily monitored, the gates of the city had a constant stream of people going in and out, so detailed checks were impossible. All the hubbub from the new activities made effective control of people impossible. The guards also knew that if someone was determined enough to approach the city over land, then they would be determined enough to find a way to slip into the city. The new city would need to establish new routines and practices before they could start recognizing the people by sight, so two extra Jun mixed into the throng drew no attention.
The two angels didn’t have to wait long before they were approached by a messenger that was here to take them to their destination. It had actually taken the messenger more time to find the two than it took for Dee to sense their approach. The two were led to a fairly large walled mansion at the heart of the city. The house was built around a large central garden and was shared by Dee and Moirai, though the angels were not aware of this detail.
Many things went through Rahmiel’s head as she first saw the person that might end up changing the fates of her race. The first two words that came to her were exotic and attractive. The strange horns glowing with lines of power to the point of seeming ready to fracture and explode spoke of the girl’s draconic heritage. She had heard that the girl’s old and more feral form had been white-furred, which was attested to by the snow white fox tails spread behind her back, as well as her hair that seemed to be changing color for some reason. The lavender color seemed to be giving away to white, giving a bit of a wild and playful impression.
The girl was clearly beautiful, though that was almost obvious with her heritage containing both the blood of angels and kitsune. Dragons usually also had attractive humanoid forms, and this was no exception. Once the initial impression passed though, a whole new set of words popped into Rahmiel’s head. Those words were dangerous, dominating and someone who was surrounded by the aura of death.
None of those impressions was new to the archangel. She had seen more dominating beings with like the Archangel of Order or some of the elder dragons. She had also seen more dangerous people like the Archangel of Glory and the elites of the Assembly. And all of them were surrounded by the aura of death. They had all taken lives too numerous to count. But there was something unique about the air around the girl. Something about the mix of impressions giving the feeling of a blade still being unsheathed. But once fully bared blade swung, the results would be something they had not seen before. All of the three impressions of danger, domination, and death only seemed to be growing, as the girl was still young.
The girl also wasn’t alone. There was a pair of Meilin women also in the garden, though they were clearly taking a backseat for now. Their presence here was on purpose since if the girl didn’t want them to be here, she would have asked them to leave before the two angels arrived. ‘A safety measure perhaps?’ Rahmiel assumed wrongly.
“Well, if it isn’t the spy coming back after I warned her not to. Judging by your presence, and the presence of another angel, this is the person you report to. To whom do I owe the pleasure?” The girl spoke.
At this point Rahmiel dropped her disguise and her large golden wings flared out, clearly signifying her position as an archangel. The golden halo completed the impression. “I am the Archangel of Mercy, Rahmiel.”
The eyes of the two Meilin grew in size, this news clearly catching them by surprise. The girl didn’t seem fazed though. “I see. I admit I was not expecting Mercy to show up, but it makes sense now that you mention it. You would be one of the few to still keep your allegiance with Lumen despite everything.” The girl responded, using the not quite derogatory but clearly impolite mode of address. Some outsiders referred to the archangels just by their title as a way to show their lack of respect towards the position. “I am Haydee as you no doubt are aware. My friends and allies refer to me as Dee. You are neither yet, so you can call me Haydee.”
“Since I am putting my cards on the table, would you mind showing yours as well?” Rahmiel requested, not reacting to Dee’s less than welcoming tone. She doubted Araqiel would make a mistake, but it was also better to confirm such things.
Dee knew what the archangel wanted to see, and her wings also flared out. Once the lavender wing appeared, Rahmiel nodded in confirmation. That truly was the symbol of their goddess giving this girl a mission to fulfill. A mark of Lumen’s favor and will. The other wing marking the girl as Fallen was just as clear, and the implications were not pleasant. Their goddess had seen fit to go to an outsider, a Fallen no less, because the angels she created were turning away from her.
“May I ask, what mission the goddess gave you?” She knew it was coming but had to hear it with her own ears.
“To turn around the angels of Paradisia, to punish those that have twisted her will and gifts and to turn you away from this path you have chosen.” Dee replied, her words affecting the two Meilin as well. They had known Lumen had blessed her for a reason, but they had not known what that reason would be. They had also not realized the significance of Dee’s other wing.
“And did her divine grace give you any instruction as to how this was to come to pass?” Rahmiel asked while closing her eyes in grief. Having Lumen’s displeasure confirmed in such a clear way was saddening to her.
“She gave me carte blanche to choose any method I desired. She would like it if the resolution was peaceful, but recognizes that might be impossible. If the current Paradisia must burn for something new to grow in its place, then so be it.” Dee replied honestly, without letting her tone show any emotion.
Rahmiel gave a long and deep sigh. She had suspected as much, but it was still not pleasant to hear. She had known for a long time that the angels were going down a path that was bound to anger the goddess that gave them life, but she had been powerless to do anything about it. She was not the only one, but she was in the minority. “And what about Dee the person. What does she think?” She used Dee’s nickname on purpose, showing her willingness to be an ally in this, at least to an extent.
An unfriendly smile spread on Dee’s face. “I personally have very little reason to make things easy or pleasant to your kind. I’m sure you noted my heritage and know the way your kind has treated us in the recent past. In fact, the goddess also recognizes this. She approached me knowing I might decide not to help her. Truth be told, I have not decided yet. Becoming the enemy of Paradisia and possibly the enemy of most so-called ‘good’ races under your control just to help a goddess that created your kind isn’t a thought I cherish.”
“But you have a plan.” Rahmiel stated. “I’m almost certain you have given thought to what you would do if you were to take on this burden.” She had been told Dee was a psion, so of course the girl would have made plans. What she was truly asking was for the nature of the plans. Would they end up with Paradisia in flames or were they the more peaceful type.
“I have the beginnings of a plan yes. I do not know what the effects will be exactly, but I doubt the angels of Paradisia will appreciate it.” Her visit to Lumen’s domain had actually given her several ideas. Surprisingly it involved less fire than most people would assume. That didn’t mean there would be no damage to the home of the angels.
Rahmiel closed her eyes again in thought. She could try to oppose Dee, but truly stopping her would mean killing the girl. She was doubtful it was possible. She might be able to beat the inhabitants of the Five Winds, but the girl would most likely be able to escape in the mess of the battle. And did she even want to do so if she could? This was the will of her goddess. Even if the girl died, it didn’t change the fact that the angels were heading down the wrong path. Eventually there would be a reckoning. Was it not better if it happened now, and in a way that Rahmiel could affect the outcome? Maybe reduce the damage to her kind?
The archangel made her choice. “Know that you have help and allies among the angels if you choose to accept us. I’m not the only one among the archangels either. The Archangel of Hope will most likely help. The Archangel of Wisdom could be convinced. No one knows how the Archangel of Destiny will react. I’m afraid the Archangels of Justice, Glory, Order, and Death will stand against you no matter what. As will the Morningstar.” Morningstar was the title given to the leader of the Council of Archangels. The angel that took on the position gave up their old name, position, and connections in order to focus leading the angels as a whole.
“In the end, the power of the opposition will only make things harder for you. Work hard Mercy. Try to save as many of your kind as you can.” Dee replied, not really caring to soften her words. She knew that if she truly chose to do it, then she would eventually succeed. Lumen would not have approached her otherwise. The only question was how long it would take and the price that would have to be paid. And how much hate her actions would gather in the end.
If she succeeded, most the races of the universe would likely not care about the reason why or that the goddess had tasked her to do it. She would be remembered as the one who caused the downfall of the guardians of ‘good’. Yet another reason why she was not keen on doing it.
Rahmiel only nodded. She knew Dee had no reason to take it easy on them. It was doubtful someone with the heritage of demons and Fallen would become an ally of the angels after the Holy Purge. It was too much to ask. However, there were things that could be done to minimize the damage. “Do you mind if my daughter stays with you? She can contact me and we can make plans when the time comes.”
Araqiel looked at her mother in shock and was about to protest. Most of what she had already heard had driven her further off-balance, and this felt a bit too much too suddenly. Dee saw this and interjected. “Staying with me might be difficult, but she can stay here with the Five Winds. Judging by her expression, she would prefer that as well. Besides, I will not be doing anything towards Paradisia for a long time. I do not have the strength. Lumen is also not the only deity to have laid a claim on my time.”
“Not the only deity?” Rahmiel asked, getting a bad hunch.
Dee didn’t reply, only allowing the holy symbols of both Umbra and Lumen to float out of her forehead. Rahmiel stared at the sight, also in shock. The Goddess of Darkness and the Goddess of Light joining hands? This was even bigger than she had assumed. Unlike most others, she could sense just from the holy symbols that Dee was the future Champion of both.
Suddenly a completely different mood took over her. She burst out in laughter. “Well, this should be interesting if nothing else. I’m reminded of an old saying about riding a tiger. It might be deadly and hard to get off once you start, but at least it will not be boring.” Perhaps it was better to forget about worrying. She would do what she could and that would have to suffice. Worrying would not help. Either the worst came to pass and the worrying had done nothing to help, or things didn’t go that bad and the worrying would have been pointless.