We sat in a gazebo toward the back of the manor, an area I had not been to before. She looked out at the mountains silently, as if trying to figure out how to explain things. After a while, she nodded and looked at me. "The most important thing to consider is that monsters, Fiends, and the Fel are not the same. A Dark Fiend is not a Fel creature, as it matches more the sacred darkness than the Fel darkness."

"Alright." I said.

"A monster is a creature born to the natural world, they are considered dangerous enough that regular hunting and culling of them is necessary, but not always vital. They were most common at the fall of Thercor, though it is uncertain if they were created then, or if they simply proliferated. A monster is just an extremely dangerous animal."

I nodded, and she continued. "A Fiend, however, is primarily a spiritual creature, usually born from an abundance of an Aspect. The six Elemental Fiends, for instance, are simply Fiends that are greatly affiliated with a given element, and while dangerous, even the most weak-willed mortal could use them without too much problem, though they would become greatly attracted to that Fiend's element, and may turn into a Fiend of that element. The seven Fiends of Vice, however, while less common, are much more powerful. They are born either from an area with a certain Vice present, or are born from a mortal who has expressed that Vice to the point they anthropomorphize it."

I nodded.

"The Fel, however, is the abyss, it is a lack that consumes. It is the essence of death and destruction, and for those who are caught in it, they are either killed or corrupted."

"So, one is born of nature, one is born of mortal or otherwise natural circumstances, and the other is basically non-existence in a physical form."

She nodded. "Fiends represent the concept of Order, they adhere to their Aspects and feed from it, they are dangerous, but they have rules, and these rules can be exploited, which also makes them dangerous. Monsters represent the concept of Chaos, or Freedom. They exist because they are of nature. The Fel, however, is neither, but a lack. It can be both, but it is oblivion."

"So, the Fel is basically Hell." I said. "Except instead of a repository of evil souls, it just simply is nothingness."

She nodded. "Fel creatures are essentially the mockeries of reality concepts swallowed by the Fel and existent only to spread its influence. It is like speaking to a God, only to learn it never existed."

I thought for a few moments. "Cier treated Fiends as being extremely dangerous beings, but if they follow specific rules, wouldn't it make sense for them to be able to be used as they are?"

"There was a Kingdom that did this, and it was destroyed by Fiends." Lissana stated. "An Avarice Fiend takes all it wants, and can give all it has, but in the hands of those who cannot bear it responsibly, it becomes a force that can endanger everybody."

I nodded. "What about Voracious or Covetous Fiends?" I asked.

"The former will eat everything without regard for what it is, while the latter will adopt the form of another being and replace them entirely."

I nodded. We sat in silence for a while before hearing a distant explosion. "Cier and Nash are destroying the Felwights." She said. "Tonight, they will return victorious."

"Yeah." I said.

"Rex." She looked into my eyes. "Is it true you have no feelings for me?"

"What?" I asked. "Wait, what?!" I blinked, looked around, looked back at her, opened my mouth, couldn't quite figure out what to say, and just said, "I'm sorry, what?"

"I've been told that you have no desire for me, I simply wish to verify this."

"Lissana, I- Look, that is an extremely loaded question right there, if someone on my world asked me that- I mean, if I said yes and you didn't like that answer, you might get mad and then I would have to face the consequences of that and if I said no and you didn't like that answer you'd get mad and then it would be a lose-lose scenario no matter what I did."

"Did I upset you?" She asked.

"Yeah?" I said. "I mean, yeah. You don't just ask someone that out of the blue, it makes you sound as though you're either expecting a declaration of love or trying to figure out if I have some ulterior motive and I'm sorry, but I don't really care about relationships, I don't really know what I would like in a person and even if I did I'm not exactly in a position to support someone-"

She got up, walked over to me, and put her hand over my mouth. "Rex, you are babbling, and your face is red. Take a deep breath and answer, please."

I took a deep breath and she let go. "I will not get angry with you, I have no reason to. I will not be insulted, there are far worse things you could tell me."

"The only feelings I have for you are admiration for the kind person you are and happiness that I got to know such a kind soul. The only desire I have for you is to be your friend, even if it means helping out with small things that literally anyone else could do. I don't have any romantic or sexual feelings for you, though I do find you to be a legitimately beautiful person, both physically and spiritually."

She smiled. "Thank you." She said.

"Even if I did, you know, want to pursue a relationship beyond being just friends, I would at least wait until I would even be worthy of that, and even then, I'd probably not even try because there's a degree of potential interspecies incompatibility as well as the sociopolitical problems that could come about, not to mention it would be pretty damn presumptuous of me to really try." I looked away. "What I'm saying is, I respect you too much to see you as anything less than who you are."

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"If I may, I wish to confess to you a secret." She said. I nodded. "You are the first one I have met who has respected me for who I am, rather than my status. Though you are at times vexing, and indeed, with anyone else, I would have had them in irons for their indiscretion, your honesty in spite of the advantage you have over me, and your wonder at things that for me have long since become everyday distractions, and your kindness and willingness to do of your own volition what many would only do because it is expected, it makes me smile, because I know there is at least one good Human in this world, even if this is not your world. I admit, I am disappointed you feel nothing for me, but to expect you to entertain a fleeting emotion would not be fair to you. I am certain, however, that should you find someone to love with all of your being, they will be the happiest person alive."

"Thank you." I said.

She leaned forward and kissed my forehead and said, "May you know the blessings of the Goddess of the Wind, and may you be sheltered by the Dragon God."

I stood up and hugged her. "May Bahamut's Flame light the darkness, that you may never be lost, may it warm you in the coldest of nights."

We spent time enjoying what the rest of the day had to offer, and by dinnertime, Nash and Cier had returned, both none the worse for wear.

"It was successful?" Lissana asked them.

"All were exterminated, but there were no survivors." Nash said. "Among them the one you assigned to guard Rex."

"I see..." Lissana looked at Cier. "And the reward?"

"I collected my part and donated it, as you willed." Cier stated.

"I kept mine." Nash said. "I know we both earn enough, but do you know how hard it is to get Felwight blood off a sword? Sura Punch-Things-To-Death here didn't even get a drop on him, but absolutely drenched the surrounding area."

Lissana smiled and bowed her head. "As ever, immaculate in his movements." She said.

"I was wondering about that, actually." I said. "I know Felvore leather is useful, but is Felwight blood useful for anything? It seems like it'd be a decent bonding agent."

Nash nodded. "Yes, I did collect some since Beatrice finds some uses for them. Ever since she got that new toy of hers, she's been looking at everything under it. I can let you look at some of the stuff that it dried onto, including Spex's daggers, they're practically useless now."

I nodded. "That'd be good." I said.

Things were calm by the time we ate, Nash recounted how he cut through five of them in one swing before his sword was rendered practically useless. He basically then used it as a glorified club and bashed them to death. Cier did not embellish at all, he punched Felwights, and they exploded, and that was that.

Nash's sword was indeed caked with the stuff, it was a dull black and, to my surprise, rather rubbery, Because of it, the blade couldn't cut, even if one pressed hard on the edge.

After dinner, I went to my room with the daggers and Nash's sword and did some experiments with them. The coagulated blood was not resistant to acid, though even magic weapons would eventually break down. Attempting to shoot magic out of them was pretty much impossible, though when I tried to push it, I actually did send the one covering Nash's sword rocketing off. They were hard to cut, and held a uniform seal, and with the one I shot off, it was resistant to cutting.

I went to Nash's room and knocked. He came to the door, yawning. "What is it?" He asked tiredly.

I handed him he sword, which woke him up.

"How did you do it?" He asked.

"The coagulated blood prevents magic from passing through, so I just built up pressure until it shot off. Congratulations, you also have a sheath made of coagulated Felwight blood."

He took his sword, as well as the slightly stiff blood-sheath, and stared at both with an expression of bemusement.

"Huh." He sounded.

"I also have some ideas for potential applications, but it'll have to wait for tomorrow." I said. "Good night and sleep well."

He nodded and closed the door behind him...

"Have you ever stood fully within the glory of a God?" I opened my eyes to find myself somewhere completely different. Above me, I could see a foggy blue sky, with massive monoliths piercing it. I sat up and looked around. In front of me was a massive black sea, which was completely still, the monoliths the only thing piercing the mirror-like surface.

I looked down to see pearlescent sand underneath me, which was extremely fine to the point it did not feel gritty at all, but more like dust, or ash, though the fact it didn't smear against my fingers indicated otherwise.

I turned around and saw, in front of a massive stone monolith, a radiant creature . It looked Humanoid, with a well-sculpted body that I felt a little envious of, which struck me as weird since I never really cared how I looked. It held its arms out, on each hand were three fingers and a thumb, and each foot bore two toes. Its face was smooth with two glowing blue eyes and a pair of horns that rose and created something resembling a halo. It had a long, slender tail that was every bit as powerful as it was. It was something that looked to be immaculate, and I found myself approaching it.

"What are you?" I asked.

"You understand what I am." It spoke. "I am the ideal servant of the Gods, I raise up the impure and grant them perfection."

I found myself reaching out and placing my hand against its chest. While it was muscular, it was balanced out with fat so as to be healthy. It placed its hands on either side of my face and looked into my eyes.

"You are a Holy Fiend." I said.

"That is the term you Mortals use." It said. "And it is not inaccurate, but it is also not the full truth. I am the left and right hand of all that is sacred, I am the keeper of the secret names of the Gods, I am their Champion, and there is currently twelve of my kind in existence."

It pulled me closer. "I move through the tides of fate in search of others who bear the fate to become, and I have found you to be worthy, and you have at times nearly claimed your destiny."

I furrowed my brow for a moment, but I felt nothing wrong. "Events conspire to keep you disparate, seek your destiny, and-"

"BEGONE."

The Fiend was gone, and I was left reeling and disoriented. A strong hand grasped my shoulder, and I felt stable. I looked behind me and saw a Human.

"Who are you?" I asked.

In a soft voice, he spoke, "I am Paedon, Glaive of Justice and Battle, and I see you have been the target of many Fiends." Two chairs rose from the sand and he sat me down in one. "The Fiends who seek Champions for the Gods do not truly understand the difference between a willing Champion and one who is enticed. Would you, as you are now, be so willing to become one?"

I shook my head. "No." I said. "First Bahamut, now you, is this an everyday occurrence or am I special?"

"You are special in that you did not exist a month ago." Paedon stated. "Dark forces seek your blood and Gods seek the promise you bear. Bahamut has made you his Champion, yet he did not seek you, but simply used you as you were what he needed."

"I figured." I said. "What about you?"

"You are Human, and thus in my image. What other reason need I?" He asked. "Just as Bahamut would protect his own from being influenced, so must I protect my own, even if they speak no prayer to me. Yet, with the gifts he has given you, you could draw upon my power innately, a gift given by another can be used in service to all, such is the Pact of the Godsmoot."

"Basically, I can call upon you for divine spells." I said.

"It is more accurate to say, you may use my Aspects for your needs, that is your right as a Human."

I could indeed feel a stronger connection with Paedon than with Bahamut. This was like meeting with a kind, yet stern father, while with Bahamut, it was more a matter of business, a transaction and an investment. I felt no greater faith for either, I wasn't ready to just live a life in service to either, but I did feel a distinct sense of reverence for both.

"I am so used to the concept of a deity who says no other gods exist, that I forgot that in a polytheistic context, the Gods would be willing to share followers." I said.

He nodded. "There is no faith found in a coerced follower." He stated. "And though most Priests dedicate their lives to one God, there are few that devote themselves to all Gods."

"Thank you for telling me this." I said.

"Know that one day, I may call upon you to be my champion, you will recognize this, and you will know the choice before you. Know that there can be many champions to one, and one for many."

"So, it's not compulsory, but rather-"

He nodded. "When faith is compulsory, there can be no faith." He replied. "Go forth, and know I expect greatness."

I opened my eyes and found myself awake in my room...