I prepared to kick the door open but was beaten to the punch by Jorg who was determined to protect his sister. The doors opened to the sight of a massacre. One that made me sick to my stomach and reminded me that every time I thought Mokosh was a magical world of adventure, someone threw a curve ball that reminded me just how bloody and nasty it could be.

The throne room was a beautiful marble dome with a large sunroof of crystal that was designed to bathe the room in natural light. Large roots from the enormous trees, saplings taken from the Eldritch Tree, grew in through and around holes in the walls. The roots formed into a single all-natural throne that had been abandoned since the overthrow of the Vampire Lords.

That wasn't the most noticeable thing, though. No, that was all the bodies spread across the ground, riddled with bullets. There were people I recognized like the Great Mother and her two assistant priestesses, an elvish woman who looked identical to Thistle with a crown on her head, a woman who bore a suspicious resemblance to Eva Green, and several knights mixed with well-dressed nobles. There was also a Teddy Ruxpin which, no, I could not explain.

That's the Wise Man's changeling doll, Perun said. He turned it into a copy of himself to attend this meeting because he suspected something was up.

And he didn't think to warn anyone else? I asked.

He might have been wrong and that would have been embarrassing, Perun said, not an ounce of humor in his voice.

Standing in front of the massacre site were two figures. The first of them was Alek Kowalski, holding up an XM7 assault rifle with a cold-blooded look on his face. If you wanted to know what my brother-cousin (goddammit Jon, now I think of him that way) looked like then it was pretty much me with shorter hair and dressed like Michael Biehn in Terminator with a headband.

The second figure was identical to the dead Eva Green looking woman on the ground before she lifted her hands up in the air and slowly transformed into a maroon-haired woman I recognized all too well. Well, sort of recognized as she had the same face and hair. This version of Nightchilde was as tall as the Dawnbringer and dressed in blue-white moonlight robes with skin that was the same shade.

Nightchilde had a floppy witch's hat on and a staff that was tipped with a piece of moon rock on the top (I remember what they looked like from visiting Epcot Center as a child). Much like the Fire Demon, the Nightbringer had an extra pair of arms that her robes accommodated. She was alien, beautiful, and terrifying at once. It certainly put to rest any questions about her identity, not that I'd had many left.

"Murderer!" Jorg shouted, charging with his sword straight at the pair of them. I didn't know if he planned to go after Alek or Nightchilde first but suspected it didn't matter.

Alek lifted his assault rifle to gun him down, only for Nightchilde to wave her hand. As a result, he was frozen in place like a statue. I noticed Ania had raised her pistol to shoot Nightchilde but her hands were shaking as if she was unable to do so then the gun forced itself to the ground. It was a disturbing sight since it implied that she couldn’t' bring her weapon against her former goddess. It reminded me of how Ania summarized her opinion of the divine, "Gods lie."

"Hello Aaron," Nightchilde said, looking at me. "Fancy seeing you here. What are the odds."

"About 100%, I'd wager," I said, not meeting her gaze but staring directly at the carnage around me. "Do you feel this is enough bloodshed for your girlfriend, Alek? Especially since you're right beside the woman who killed her?"

"No," Alek responded coldly.

"Nightchilde, what have you done?" Francine said, staring in shock. Her voice was full of betrayal but also disappointment. Then again, she'd been fighting for the 'Dragon Queen' this entire time.

"I have united the Southern Kingdoms," Nightchilde said, calmly. "The Empire as well since Veles has returned to Bald Mountain and Constantine the Black is even now being stabbed to death by a dozen Senators. They do love the classics there."

"Apparently, no one told them how that story ended for Caesar's assassins," I muttered.

Nightchilde smiled. "Whatever the case, Francine, events are transpiring faster than your slow and steady approach is able to keep up with them so I decided to move. We shall now have the armies needed to battle against Veles."

I looked down at the corpses. "I sincerely doubt you're going to be able to pull that off. Ledziania doesn't operate on Necromonger rules. You don't keep what you kill."

Nightchilde swept her staff end over the corpses and they all vanished as if they had never been there. "I think you'd be surprised but the mass eradication of the leadership of the opposition will be accompanied by their replacement with more tractable individuals. Ivan, are you ready to become King of Ledziania? I can make a case for you as a dark horse candidate for Emperor as well. The Lords Centurion will look for someone they think they can control, unaware they're controlled by me."

Ivan coughed into his fist and looked uncomfortable. "I may have already sworn my eternal undying allegiance to Aaron and him for king."

"Interesting," Nightchilde said. "I also note that Thistle isn't with you, despite the fact that I explicitly sent you to retrieve her."

Ivan paused. "Funny story, she's now an angel sworn to Aaron. She's also sort of dead."

"Angels regenerate," Nightchilde said. "It just takes a while. So, that will make my crowning her queen of the elves...difficult."

"She'd never agree to that," I replied, feeling like I'd thrown a lot of wrenches into Nightchilde's plans without having meant to.

I find that kind of hilarious, Perun said. She always was a scheming bitch. But usually, it was in a good way.

Hush, father. These are matters beyond your ghost, Nightchilde spoke in my mind, confirming not only could she read my mind, but Perun's voice wasn't just a hallucination I was suffering from overdosing on divine energy. I wasn't sure that was a comfort.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

No one speaks in my mind but me! I snapped.

Thankfully, both fell silent.

At least in my head.

"Her agreement wasn't necessary, only her acquiescence," Nightchilde said. "As you have just demonstrated, oaths have power in Mokosh. It is the one thing that all three facets of Triglav agreed upon. It is also something that binds your Dark Undermaster fanfic waifu."

I was curious who she meant before Ania found herself involuntarily kneeling before Nightchilde. It looked like she was being forced down by an invisible force.

"Ania!" Agata said, shocked.

"Let her go," I said.

"That may be possible to negotiate, Aaron, but first I need a queen," Nightchilde said. She pointed her middle right hand at Ania, and a kind of twisted Cinderella sparkle sailed out to envelop Ania.

The result was Ania was wearing a slingshot dress with her hair up in an elaborate style that showed her ears, something I'd not really bothered to look at even during sex. They were quite a bit longer than a human’s and showed the points of an elf. She also had a tiara that made her appear like a more risqué elvish version of Audrey Hepburn's famous black evening gown. It was completely not her style.

"What the hells is this?" Ania asked, looking down at the dress in horror.

"A dress?" Jon asked. He'd turned back into his owlbear, sorry owlsine, form and was apparently ready for battle. “I suppose that’s your equivalent of naughty lingerie for Aaron.”

Ania smacked him on the beak for that one.

"They'll never accept Ania as their queen," I said, horrified at Ania's humiliation than thinking through the politics.

"I think you'll be surprised," Nightchilde said. "The Dark Moon Elves drove the population of the Great Forest to further extremes and eliminated the moderates, as per my design, until the majority of them were just sick of the endless conflict. Ania Rose is now a legendary hero for slaying one of the Old Gods and will be more so when she does Veles. She also slew many of the war criminals who persecuted as the elves. In many ways she is a far more acceptable queen than Roheas or Thistle ever could be. A perfect compromise candidate for a united Ledziania."

"I...will..." Ania tried to speak before she changed her tone. She looked tense as if she was being held up by wires. "I am sworn to give up all titles for the Dark Undermasters. So, I can’t be queen. There.”

"Your oath to me comes first," Nighchilde said. "Foreswear the Dark Undermasters now and accept my title and I will spare Aaron."

"Nightchilde!" Francine started to speak before she, too, was frozen.

Which, since she was 25th level, was not good.

She could have resisted but it was about an equal attack, Perun said. Her avatar here is about as powerful as Rachel. I wouldn't recommend attacking her, though, since a fight between them would kill the 11th level folk here.

"I renounce the Undermasters," Ania said, her shoulders slumping over. "For Aaron, not you."

Nightchilde smirked and waved her hand. "I wouldn't have hurt him anyway. So, I understand you fucked my sister and killed her, Aaron?"

"I also fucked your mother too," I said, not remotely intimidated. "Ask me who was the best among you all."

Everyone looked like I'd dropped a bomb in the room, which was impressive since it already was a site of a massacre.

Nightchilde laughed. "Oh, Aaron, I've forgotten how much I enjoyed our banter."

"Yeah, well, you left me for a barista," I said, furious with how she'd treated Ania but not wanting to draw attention to it. "How’s that relationship doing anyway?"

"I literally ate his soul," Nightchilde said.

"So, basically our relationship but longer," I replied.

Nightchilde burst out laughing. "Oh, Aaron, if only you hadn't been a boring office drone when we'd been together. We might have returned to Ledziania together."

"You would have turned me into your slave like you have my cousin?" I asked, looking at Alek.

"I'm no one's slave," Alek said. "I've made a deal."

"Yes, because that worked out so well with Veles," I said, appalled at his actions. "Killing all these people isn't going to make the Southern Kingdoms any safer."

"I'm not concerned about making the world a safer place," Alek said. "I'm here to resurrect the Dragon Queen. The real one."

Francine looked guilty despite not being able to move even her eyes.

"Really?" Joan said, stepping forward. "You'll resurrect my mom. Then I'm on your side! I swear allegiance or whatever you need."

POPE JOAN HAS LEFT YOUR PARTY

"Dammit," I muttered.

"I'm sorry, Aaron, but I....family comes first," Joan said, looking guilty.

"Which is extra funny because Aaron was going to resurrect the Dragon Queen with the coin Veles gave him anyway," Nightchilde said.

"Wait, what?" Joan asked.

"What?" Alek said.

Nightchilde giggled like a schoolgirl. "Seriously, it's hilarious. The one time he tries to play things close to the chest is the one time it might have made a serious difference."

"Can you even bring her back?" I asked. "Why did you kill her anyway?"

"I can," Nightchilde said, extending her hand. "With your coin."

"No deal," I said.

"And if I inflict unforgettable suffering on your associates?" Nightchilde said.

"I'm prepared to let Jon suffer for the greater good," I said.

"Huh?" Jon asked.

"Yes, yes, your sacrifice will be honored," I said.

"Funny," Jon said. "Oh, god, no, this is going to be your version of the incest joke, isn't it!"

"Jon will never submit to you!" I said. "No matter if you burn him, explode him, or dangle him from tall buildings!"

Nightchilde chuckled. "I've already killed him once, Aaron. No, Aaron, I think you know that I will torment those you care for. I know you were willing to die rather than swear to Veles."

"Wait, you were?" Bloodstorm asked, looking ready to charge but holding back. "Wow, I did not see that coming."

"I did," Agata said. "He is a true hero. Which is unfortunately what we don't need now."

Rachel proceeded to step forward. "Wait, you need to know something! I am your sister, Zorya Dawnbringer! Reborn!"

Nightchilde blinked. "Yeah, I knew that."

"Oh," Rachel said, pausing. "Can't we find a way to resolve this peacefully."

"Seriously, she looks like someone combined Felicia Day and the actress who played Ania in the TV show," Alek said, looking at Rachel with an uncomfortable expression on his face. "Wait, Aaron, did you design her?"

"No!" I said. "Okay, can we just ditch this entire line of incest jokes? I've been a good sport about it but we need to stop these now."

"Sorry, we're trying not to react to the horrifying massacre," Jon said. "But I swear an oath if you get your ex-girlfriend not to kill or torture me then I will leave all of the incest jokes to Rachel from now on."

"You promise?" Rachel asked Jon.

"Rachel, we need to talk about parent-child boundaries," I said.

"I'm just trying to bond with the group," Rachel said. "They treat you very poorly despite you being super nice."

"He killed me!" Ivan said.

"You got better!" Rachel said. "Also, you were lying to him."

"That's not an excuse," Ivan said.

I looked between my group, Alek, and Nightchilde. We could try and rush Nightchilde and maybe I could free Francine with a COUNTERSPELL.

Yeah, good luck with that, Perun said.

But I also realized that wouldn't do much to defeat Veles. Nightchilde was sane, having purged herself of the Twisted One's influence, just kind of awful.

"I heard that," Nightchilde said.

So, I decided to try all or nothing. "Let's negotiate a compromise. I've got two people you want and you have some people I want."

"You can't beat me, Aaron," Nightchilde said. "In the end, you always gave me what I wanted. I also have the allegiance of the woman you love."

"Not willingly," Ania said, coldly. "You aren't the god I thought you were."

Nightchilde smiled. "The god you wanted was a god who told you to kill everyone you hated and feel good about it. If you believe that, you should worship Mythras, but I own her too now."

Joan glared.

Ania looked away.

I shrugged. "I think we can reach an equitable agreement, but we can settle any disputed issues with a game of skill."

"You mean..."

"How about a game of Pwiffle?"