Chriss & Bliss [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMpQQDsDwEbjp75PTEDvcg_6_JJGWXJFPgd8cz6dAtqIrjIOFxoZhtSHJ2xcqxx-7axSqKwx8Tjl-Y8dkPjBcSFC61HUxG5CkSIN3r581m4NEKSgWcpB6nSUboU7XBtwSM7RSSNqxHx9rLc5MJD9kAO=w613-h919-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Coronata had been warned there might be fighting before she had chosen to leave the safety of the Sacred Grove and travel to the newly birthed World Tree across the ocean. She had felt it worth the risk, however, if it meant a new home away from her heartache.
Eden herself had recommended the change and the Fae was not one to refuse the child of the Cultivator. As one of the Grove Guardians, Coronata found herself grateful that she could continue her chosen profession in a new location that didn’t have the memories of her past all around her.
The World Tree itself had been a wonderful and exciting experience for her. The newness of everything, the way the alien technology fused with it, the local runeforged and cinderen that cared for it, and the strange mixed-species party that seemed much too weak to warrant being at the center of it, was all fascinating to her.
When the call for reinforcements came to help protect the tundra’s capital city, Coronata knew that her duty was to protect the World Tree but she had volunteered to go. She had new friends there, after all, and knew of the important building that her goddess would want to be protected there.
Most Fae were not religious per se, as they had not originated on Makera specifically but from one of the Reality Rifts attached to the planet, but Coronata had chosen to venerate Eden’s mother after dedicating herself to the demigod Keeper of the Sacred Grove.
As Coronata flew through one of the Emerald Caste portals the mysterious voxen provided, she quickly made her way to the Cultivator’s Citadel within the northwestern section of the inner city. She was a streak of blue with her large butterfly-like wings trailing a stream of brilliant, glittering faerie dust behind her.
Most Fae were attuned to Arcane magic and she was no different in that regard as she sent blades of blue magic through the air with a sweep of her claw-like nails. The Emerald Caste ability tore through any Crystal or Sapphire Caste monsters while severely injuring any other Emeralds.
Unlike Casters, who come from the Vauva species, she was a Vanhin and didn’t gain abilities through Aspects or Spirit Gems. She was born with her five Natural Talents like everyone else but each Caste she naturally grew into granted a trio of Natural Abilities. These abilities were usually stronger or more versatile than a singular Caster ability but the versatility as a whole was often lacking.
When Coronata arrived at the top of the Citadel, she was surprised to find the roof already occupied by a party of Adventurers; one of which she was pleased to see was her new friend, Bliss.
A crystalline fortress was already erected atop the towering building, and the base of it seemed to be slowly growing down the sides. The ability was creating a mixture of metal and crystal spikes along the building, as though trying to encase it in the protective material.
The Fae found herself immensely grateful for the added defense to the building that produced a majority of the city’s food. If this building was destroyed, many people would end up dying of starvation rather than monsters. While the World Tree’s food production was beginning to ramp up, it couldn’t yet sustain hundreds of thousands of people. It was vital for them to protect it even more than any other building in the entire city.
Coronata was surprised when a beam of swirling iridescent magic seemed to streak across the streets and surrounding buildings, covering them in more of the protective crystal while causing some of the flying monsters to fall from the sky or get pinned and trapped within the encroaching Gem magic.
She flew closer and found the source to be a young woman standing atop a watchtower within the shiny crystal fortress. With long iridescent hair that had a purple sheen to it and a glittering dress covered in large purple gemstones, the woman reminded Coronata of one of the gemites, except she was missing the pointed ears, and her aura read as human.
She had been introduced to Noble Chriss Stratford by Bliss the day after Noble Dazien’s reveal party and had hoped to become friends with her as well. They just hadn’t had much time to meet between her duties as a Guardian and their missions as Adventurers.
The beautiful Sapphire Caster was now using some kind of chain weapon to rake monsters across the crystal spikes or pull them into the fortress, which she realized was a death trap for anything caught within it.
Another human Defender was doing much the same with his own hooked chain. That gave the Fae the wonderful idea of helping to toss monsters into the maelstrom as she flitted through the air around the structure.
Coronata found Bliss on the street, the once-adorable kitten now in a more monstrous chimera form that the Fae found equally adorable, even as Bliss savagely tore into a Sapphire Frost Lurker before spewing bile all over it.
She could sense the Corrosion magic eating through the howling monster’s visibly melting flesh and the street below, finding herself slightly fascinated by the brutality of such a cute creature. The beaked tail launched backward to snatch a flier out of the air, savagely and repetitively slamming it into the road, causing her to grin.
When she was about to move to intercept an aerial monster from attacking the chimera from the side, an arrow slammed into the enemy first. The arrow quickly sprouted into vines that tangled its wings and caused it to plummet to the ground nearby where the massive chimera pounced next; shredding it with teeth, claws, beak, and sharpened feathers.
Those same feathers were often launched into the air to intercept more monsters that seemed to keep appearing in an endless wave as they crawled from the ocean and rained down from the air.
It didn’t appear like the party of Adventurers was talking much with one another, seeming to have fallen into a natural and familiar rhythm of working together, but Coronata could hear maniacal laughter coming from atop one of the fortress walls.
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A Mage was casting swarms of various construct weapons to hurl into the fray of monsters with abandon, causing explosions on impact in a variety of Elemental magic that was both beautiful and terrifying.
While keeping an eye on the group, Coronata focused on keeping any higher-level Emerald Caste enemies away from them. She could sense that most of the party was at the peak of Sapphire and could likely handle an Emerald, but this was a matter of efficiency when dealing with these sheer numbers.
At one point, it looked like the massive Ruby Caste Firebird was going to run into them as it seemed to get metaphysically decapitated by an equally massive ethereal wraith surrounded by violet flames that quickly spread and consumed the creature.
Coronata urgently made her way to Chriss and gave a quick bow in the way she had seen many of the locals do before asking as best as she could in the local language she was still trying to learn, “Me use Gem beam?”
Chriss raised a brow at her in question and obvious confusion so she tried more, “Give hand. Me grow Gem beam?”
The woman slowly nodded, holding out a hand. She grasped it tightly, then pointed toward the Firebird, “Cast Gem beam. Me move monster away!”
As Chriss incanted her ability, Coronata’s own Natural Ability took hold and channeled the surprising amount of power through herself instead, combining her own magic into it to boost it by an incredible amount. Then the enlarged beam emitted a hair-raising feeling of power from her outstretched hand –dwarfing even the massive rampaging chimera below– and smashed into the bird’s right wing, causing it to turn to the northwest instead of continuing towards the Citadel.
They both winced a few moments later as the Firebird then crashed into a different skyscraper in another section of the city but she knew it was better than the alternative of a starving duchy.
Coronata gave a grin full of sharp teeth to the iridescent woman and said, “We join together more later? Bliss join?”
Chriss rubbed a palm over her face, giving a sigh before nodding, “Yes, we can train together later. I’m sure Bliss would love to.”
Madly cackling laughter interrupted the moment as the maniacal mage called out, “I’M NEXT!”
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Emerald Caste golems, along with the Sapphire Caste BELs, were moving quickly all over the Research District, which was neighboring the Port District’s eastern side. House Teras had been the creators of the donated creations that had solidified their place among the duchy’s nobility, and now those golems, along with many more, were assisting in the evacuation and rescue efforts of the civilians closest to the Soul Reapers’ onslaught.
Polissa found herself at a personal crossroads. Dazien’s words at his Noble Reveal had made her contemplate more about what she wanted to do with her future, and she knew running away and hiding while the city was in danger wasn’t it.
“Po, your dad said to go stay in your family’s shelter,” Mohala said worriedly from behind her as she ran through her home towards the front door. The blue dryad’s icy bird Familiar, Tinsel, twittering urgently from her shoulder as well.
“There’s room for more people there,” she retorted, “We can let others know to seek safety here and help defend from any of those Caged monsters.”
“He’s still going to get angry and–”
“I don’t care anymore, Mo,” the cinderen said, not stopping as she navigated the halls, “If he wants to get angry and yell and strip me of whatever privileges my title gives me, then let him. I won’t be kept trapped in my home while the people we’re meant to protect die around us.”
“And what if you die?!” the normally cheerful dryad called out, and the tone of her voice caused Polissa to finally pause and look at her best friend. Mohala was crying but trying to keep a steady voice, “I don’t want to see you die like Simmon did. They said there’s an Obsidian Caster. We’re not strong enough for this fight, Po.”
She felt her anger bleed away as she hugged the other woman, “It’s okay. You don’t have to come with me. I won’t think less of you if you stay behind. This is just something I have to do.”
“No, you don’t,” Mohala said, wiping a tear away, “It’s something you’re choosing to do. Just like I’m choosing to stay by your side. I’m asking you to be safe, Po. Not just for me or you but for your parents. For all the people that rely on your family’s continued existence. There’s nobody after you for House Teras and your dad and papa are already out there risking their lives to keep us safe.”
“If I have the power to help and I refuse to use it because of that, then I don’t think my house deserves to continue,” Polissa stated, then turned to continue going outside, “I agree with Dazien’s stances that he talked about during our mission together. Nobles are meant to serve their people. Meant to protect them and earn the privileges they are granted in return. I’m done hiding from that responsibility.”
It was almost creepy that as soon as she stepped outside her home she heard a shout from above, “Polissa Teras! Get back inside right now, young lady! Or so help me, you will be confined to your room till you’re thirty!”
She glared up at her dad, the Chancellor of the Order of Magic, who was standing on a balcony looking over a plethora of magical displays that let him and others see what his golems were seeing.
“How is that any different from what you were already doing?!” she yelled back, “I’m done being a Teras if it means being locked up for it!” she added, beginning to stalk off before he appeared before her in a blur, his Emerald Caste Agility difficult for her to track.
“Polissa, I’m begging you. Please, go back inside so I can focus on the battle,” Ethan said, the desperation in his voice was the only thing causing her to pause. “We can discuss things when it’s safe again, but I–”
“I want to help make it safe again!” she interjected, “These people are mine to protect as well! I can help. We can–”
“I can’t lose you!” the older cinderen said, clutching her shoulders almost painfully tight, “Losing your brother broke me. I know I didn’t– that I’m not handling it well, but if I lose you too, I– I can’t… I won’t survive that.”
Polissa felt torn once more as molten tears fell down her dad’s face, but she clenched her fists and said as calmly as she could manage, “I won’t be reckless. None of us know when we’ll die, but I’d rather my death be as honorable as Simmon’s instead of being crushed under rubble while hiding. You will survive even if I don’t. You have to because it’s not just me and Papa that rely on you, Lord Chancellor Teras.”
Her father’s gaze never left hers as he took unnecessary breaths before finally asking quietly, “What do you plan to do?”
“We’ll be fulfilling our roles as Adventurers and mine as a noble to defend the city that Simmon gave his life to protect. I will honor my brother’s memory by fighting for the future he wanted.”
“Does that future still include this family?” he asked, searching her face.
“As long as you actually mean family and not prisoner by that,” she said, not willing to back down on this point, “I may not be old enough to lead our House yet, but I’m old enough to marry and make my own life choices. I still care about this family, but I won’t let it keep me from living my life anymore.”
She paused for a moment, taking in her father’s ragged appearance before hugging him tightly as she said softly, “And you shouldn’t let Simmon’s death keep you from living your own. There are people still here who need you and love you, Dad.”
Polissa worried he might squeeze the life from her as the Emerald Caster returned her tight embrace before he managed to say, “Let’s protect those people together then.”