EPILOGUE

The next few days were good ones, a few of those believed to be dead in the woods during the pursuit, emerged to the tearful embraces of their loved ones, some had been wounded and survived, others had simply traveled much too deep and it took longer to get out than it otherwise would have. Lakyus kept her promise to the man in the river and had his remains recovered, and he was given a proper burial. The wounded were healed in order of priority, and though a few died anyway, most of them were back on their feet within a few days.

The cleanup of the city was a community effort, scrubbing the results of loose bowels that had opened in terror or at the end of life, had been an especially foul smelling affair, but worse was the blood, which seemed to refuse to come off the stone, until Cercei ordered it to simply be left where it was, to dry and stain the stone as an eternal reminder, that when the time had come to fight or flee, in her lifetime, they chose to hold the wall. She gave a stirring speech atop the same stone where her husband had died, a place chosen for that express reason, where she praised the defenders of the city, called for unity in the face of common necessity, it was a message well received, and couldn't have been otherwise under the circumstances.

The dead were buried together, and with the only priest available being Ulthis, he found himself called to perform ceremonies for many other than his congregation, a service he provided at no charge, and took to with great passion as a final service to the dead. His wife, for a time, took over counseling duties for the grieving, and proved to be gifted at it because of her genuine warmth.

The deceased priests were not given a noble cover story after all, learning that they were not actually traitors...as you cannot betray what you were never loyal to in the first place...but rather that they were Slane Theocracy agents, sent shock waves through the city, and copies were made of all the relevant papers, and they were routed to every tavern and every crier and every public space and medium, and it the shock waves became outrage, and it became something of a humbling period for the followers of the four gods, to know that those they trusted for guidance had used them as a political tool, ready to throw them away to exterminate a group perceived to be a religious enemy. So Black Justice members ceased to be pariahs to the larger population, who began to listen to Ulthis and the others, and see them as neighbors should see one another, as neighbors. The division between families over whether to worship the four or the one or the one as a fifth, did not disappear, as it would have if it were a story read to children...but the framework of a bridge was formed that got people talking, and for many, that was plenty.

The temples were left empty of official priests, and such was the abiding shame that by the followers of the four gods that their temples had housed the people who worked for the overthrow of the city, that no requests were sent for replacements, instead, a few leaders sprang up from those congregations who began to speak their own minds, delivering sermons and guidance of their own making, independent of the priests of the traditional faith, but not wholly abandoning it either.

The letter arrived confirming Yamoc to the leadership of the city arrived a week later, while Cercei had been in de facto control over the administration of city affairs already, it was considered to have conveyed the position to her now that her husband had passed away before he could officially assume the position. Rava and Yamoc were buried side by side in the central square of the city on the same day that Viscountess Cercei became the official ruler of the city. It was not a day she reveled in, as it was for most others who achieved the pinnacle of rule within their realm. Even her citizens had the grace to temper their happiness at her ascendancy with sympathy for her loss.

So ascended or not, she mourned her daughter and her husband, and took comfort from Ulthis, who became an important advisor, one that had earned a measure of trust by those who had fought beside him, or seen him fight for them. Ulthis took to preaching openly in the square, speaking of the virtues of strength and the obligation to their city through their god, and he blended his message with one of tireless city pride in their shared defense of one another's homes, and this proved extremely motivating to those who followed him, and those who did not.

Cercei had her city's banner changed to show a representation of the city surrounded by a wall, with the motto "Holding the wall", and her personal crest was modified to include a wall splashed with blood in the same pattern that fell from her husband's wounds onto the stone, and her family motto would forever read, "Hold the wall, or die on it."

The city's banner became very popular among the populace, and those capable of sewing found the demand for ones that could be hung from doors and windows to be very popular, and within a few weeks, there was barely a house that was not proudly sporting the city symbol. It was even painted on Black Justice uniforms, which further enhanced their public image, and combat training was expanded to those outside the faith as a matter of city necessity, creating a common ground that brought both sides together, forming new friendships through shared experience.

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When Alyra was taken away from Kedyn, the city where Rava had lived, she fell deeper and deeper into madness, and her time of being functionally sane continued to be more and more brief, until one day it never returned, she fell into peels of mad laughter and babbling about how she hoped her daughter would come home soon, forgetting it seemed, that Rava had actually died, which for her might have been a thing it was a blessing to forget, until at last one priest who saw her decline, who saw her obvious suffering and pain as her own mind tortured her, took pity on her. Whereupon he mixed a potion of hemlock and milk of the poppy, and helped her drink it saying, "Here, drink this, and you can go see Rava again." In his most soothing and gentle voice, she drank, and soon fell limply onto the dirty, soiled mat she'd been given, and looked up above her, she managed to raise her arms up and whisper, "Ahhh, there you are Rava, I've been waiting for you...no more waiting now...come to mommy..." and her eyes, once wide and mad, became clear and gentle, then closed, her arms fell down, and she slept forever after. The priest who pitied her paid for her burial so she wouldn't be dumped in a pit, and occasionally he stopped by and said a prayer for the girl, pitying that any mother should ever lose her daughter, and thinking it no wonder she went mad.

Gustav remained in the city for a few more days, allowing his surviving party to rest and relax, and helping out with advice for Cercei on how to reorganize her military, and of course, changing out some assignments that were made through the sale of offices, though she 'bought back' the offices from those unsuitable for them, at his advice, rather than simply firing them, giving them a small profit and minimizing antagonism, and he personally vetted those who had bought security or military positions, ensuring that those who were confirmed in their jobs, were fit for them, and seeing to the ouster of those who were not, but within a week he had rewarded his men and contributed enough to Cercei to be comfortable leaving the city, and he began the long march back to the capitol, losing the volunteer Red Paladins back to their temples and patrols along the way, promising that if Cercei needed his advice, she could always feel free to write to him.

Blue Rose spent time patrolling the woods and searching for stragglers among the enemy, but wherever they had gone, they were not anywhere near Kedyn, and the entire team doubted they'd ever want to come within sight of the city again. They were able to attend the coronation of the Viscountess's place as ruler of the city, and spent some spare time providing instruction to Black Justice members and even trading tips with trainers, they got to enjoy the city's seeming renewal as goods flowed and people worked again, they even purchased a souvenir set and sent it along with a letter to Princess Renner talking about their adventures. This assignment, after its initial danger, seemed to have turned into the easiest one they'd ever had, with little more to do now except escort Black Justice members to villages surrounding the city and patrol for dangers that were already dead.

Lakyus for her part, grew more and more comfortable around the three vampires, and her refusal to entertain her ugly thoughts, made them less frequent, even on peaceful days, though she still carried the guilt over her mistreatment of Evileye, who she preferred to address as Keeno in private, it served as a drive to be more considerate in her judgement, rather than something to flagellate herself over pointlessly. Her apostasy still troubled her sometimes, and more than once she awoke from a nightmare of facing the judgement of the gods and being punished, but when she woke and found the barefaced Keeno clinging to her arm in her sleep like the little sister she always saw the child sized vampire as, her fear of the gods faded again and she found the next time she fell asleep to be dreamless and pleasant.

So it wasn't just the city of Kedyn which was having good days, they did also, and enjoyed ample peace on a now much easier job...something that didn't change even when the news reached the city that King Caspond had been assassinated, and the capitol was in chaos. Being far away made the news shocking, but not dangerous for the small city, and being foreigners, Blue Rose cared little about politics beyond what they had to, especially the politically averse leader, Lakyus. So they focused on their job, and left national affairs to national leaders, and reveled in the rare quiet that this gave to them...that is until one evening over dinner when discussing the planned trip to E-Rantel after the mission was officially completed, she heard Neia Baraja coming through in a message spell, "Lakyus! It's Neia! I need you to fulfill your promise to me! I need your help NOW!"

Lakyus's expression went from jovial to serious, and her sisters stopped eating.

"Well Blue Rose, get ready to be called "Unholy Roses" once again by some self righteous bastards, we've got a job to do, this time for Neia Baraja of all people."

Spoons and forks were down and chairs pushed back as the team stood up.

"Well Pope Neia, we're at your service, open a gate, and we'll be right there."

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The end of this story, links up with ‘God Rising: The Cult of Ainz’ Chapter 38