“That’s good enough for me,” Sapphire replied quietly, her eyes widening. “What is it…?”
“Within… time stands still. Pain, sorrow, and death are all that remains,” Sistina told them, shaking her head. “Yet also a single spark of hope.”
“That’s oddly poetic for you, Sistina,” Phynis murmured, staring at the dryad, seeming stunned.
“I… am no poet. It saddens me,” Sistina admitted, shaking her head.
“That’s entirely understandable. What happened should sadden anyone,” Phynis told her, then smiled as she took a deep breath. “Enough of that, though. Let’s gather the others and tell them what we can before dinner. Then, bed. We need it.”
Sistina could only nod, thinking about what they’d learned and unable to stop from worrying.
Diane almost couldn’t suppress her sense of surprise when one of the priestesses, the one with crimson hair, gave Phynis a kiss as she greeted her absently. “Hello, Phynis. I hope your day was better than my own?”
“That depends on how you feel about what we dealt with. What were you up to?” Phynis asked, smiling in return as she helped the other woman sit.
Seeing the seven gemstone-hued priestesses made Diane feel strange, as well as the fact that all of them were at the table. It was Wenris’ soft murmur from next to her that made her blush and miss the priestess’ response. “Ah, interesting. I haven’t heard of many polyamorous elven monarchs… most of them are too worried about the line of succession.”
“What? They’re…” Diane paused, looking over at the elves, the situation oddly surreal to her.
“My apologies, Your Majesty, but I seem to have shocked Diane into silence, and her curiosity has gotten the better of her. Do you mind if I ask whom among our company you are in a romantic relationship with?” Wenris spoke up loudly, and the room went silent, even as Diane felt herself color with mortification.
There weren’t that many people present, primarily the priestesses, the strange dryad called Sistina, the Queen, and those who’d escorted Diane and Jaine there. Oh, there were a few others, such as the Guildmaster of the Adventuring Guild, but even so it wasn’t the sort of company where Diane would have dared to ask such a question.
“You’re certainly bold, Wenris, but I suppose it does no harm to answer your question,” the Queen answered, looking amused. “My deepest love is for Sistina, but things have grown between the Jewels and myself as well. The situation is complex, and I’m uncertain how deep our feelings will be in the end, but it’s made me happy.”
“That’s about what I thought,” Wenris replied, satisfied, smiling as she nodded. “Thank you for satisfying my curiosity, though I think My Lady will be a touch envious of you.”
“No. She never was interested in me,” Sistina replied absently. “I remember asking why. I do not remember the answer.”
“Who even is this… Emonael, anyway?” Vendis asked, frowning. “I did a little research, but I couldn’t find anything.”
For a moment there was silence, and Diane looked at Wenris, only to see the succubus smiling smugly. She obviously had no intention of answering, but it was a moment later that someone else spoke.
“Emonael is believed to have been a demon lord who ascended to godhood sometime before the Godsrage, though in part because she acts little like a demon normally does,” Diamond said, meeting Diane’s eyes with a smile, her voice calm as she explained. “She is often called the Queen in Mirrors, for she is the patron of illusion and misdirection, though her primary purview seems to be magic and knowledge thereof. She’s a mystery and enigma in one, and I’m afraid that most texts speaking of her are likely wrong. Wrong, or filled with deliberate misinformation.”
Wenris giggled softly, but paused in surprise as Sistina spoke again. It didn’t escape Diane’s notice that everyone paused to listen when the dryad spoke. “She was… mischievous but sincere. Determined, with fire within.”
“How did you know her, Sistina?” Diane asked, and almost wished to take it back as the dryad looked at her. The dryad’s eyes were filled with thought and age.
“I… do not quite remember. She helped me with the research. To what end I do not remember.” Sistina spoke softly, her voice oddly resonant in the quiet room, as she smiled and added, “I do know one thing. She was away when I died.”
“It’s strange to hear you talk about your death so calmly. I’d think you’d be upset about it.” Slaid spoke up somewhat nervously, meeting the eyes of Vendis across the table from him.
“All things die. My life was long, and came to an end,” Sistina replied simply, and smiled back at all of them. “Some advice. Live as best you can. Your lives are your own.”
“Not a bad bit of advice,” Wenris murmured, and Diane felt a pang of helplessness flood her.
“I wish I could follow it,” Diane replied, almost reflexively, then blushed and looked down. She was surprised when the succubus didn’t answer, and when Diane glanced up at the demon, she actually looked as though she was considering something.
“What are you going to do about Tyria?” Jaine finally asked, sounding terrified of the answer.
“Whatever we must, I’m afraid. Sistina is looking for a solution, but we have limited time and resources,” Phynis explained, smiling reassuringly as she added, “I wouldn’t say we have no defenses, but it’s going to be a difficult battle at best. I believe we can manage, though.”
“Truly?” Diane asked, looking at her. When other eyes focused on her, she spoke more quietly. “We’re talking about a goddess, after all.”
“Yes. Remember, during the Godsrage, they died too. If all else fails, and Sistina doesn’t find a solution… even then we have a chance. Perhaps not much of one, but I would rather live with hope than without it.” Phynis smiled gently in return. “I’ve lost hope before. I’d rather not do so again.”
The light in the eyes of the others startled Diane, but despite herself she began to feel her spirits rise once more.
“You sound like an adventurer, Your Majesty. Are you sure you don’t want to join the Guild?” Albert said, grinning as he sipped at his soup.
“No thank you, Guildmaster. I’ve quite enough problems on my plate… besides, the dungeon sleeps in my bed. Where’s the challenge in that?” Phynis’ voice was filled with mirth. A ripple of laughter filled the room at her joke, and Diane felt herself relaxing still more.
Chapter 34
Beryl thrust open the doors to the council chamber without breaking her stride, her eyes glittering with both anger and excitement. Her father was just behind her and to the left, Torkal’s eyes were bright with enthusiasm and hope. Her advisors looked up in surprise, but Beryl didn’t speak until the doors were secured.
“Your Majesty, what made you convene the council so urgently? I thought we were essentially done for the week,” one of the councilors asked, her voice filled with confusion. Councilor Marsh wasn’t the bravest woman, but she was a good administrator. Even if she did treasure her time off like a dragon hoarding gold.
“Late last night, High Priestess Nadis received several messages from Beacon. My mother and sister have been rescued from Kelvanis’ hands by an alliance between Everium, Kelvanis’ Crown Loyalists, and Sifaren. They are now safely in Beacon,” Beryl replied, trying to keep her tone courteous. “Further information was also forthcoming, and it makes war not just inevitable, but vital. We must join the fight. Now.”
General Skyreach raised his head suddenly, his eyes wide as he spoke over the exclamations of the other six councilors. “What? Your Majesty, we aren’t ready for war yet! I thought we were going to wait until our newest recruits were ready and the mercenaries reached our borders.”
Beryl’s hand came down hard on the table, and the sharp impact silenced everyone. Taking a moment to ensure they were all looking at her, the Queen finally spoke again.
“We no longer have time for that,” Beryl said quietly. “My mother brought word that our fears about the absenc
e of Medaea that Nadis reported were actually understated. The new religion of Tyria is actually an attempt to subvert Medaea’s mind and power to Kelvanis’ side of the war. Worse, it’s within a few weeks of success. Tell me, do you truly feel that the morale of our soldiers would hold under the direct assault of a goddess? Do you think we’d be able to face Kelvanis after ten years if they had her giving them a divine mandate, no matter how stolen it might be?”
There was no response for a long moment, and all of Beryl’s council went pale as they listened to her. It took a short time for anyone to speak, but finally Marsh spoke, her voice trembling. “H-how certain are we that she’s telling the truth?”
“What reason would my mother have to lie to us about this? She gave up her freedom to try to preserve the country, so why would she turn around and tell us it was hopeless?” Beryl asked, looking at the General. “General? What would happen if a goddess attacked the front lines?”
“I have very little idea. I imagine that our soldiers would fight hard, but without enough magi concentrated in one place… they would fight and die, or they would break and run.” Skyreach spoke in an unsteady voice. “I see absolutely no advantage to this, other than hoping that we would break the treaty, and even that… it’s only a decade, and they’d have plenty of time to consolidate their hold over Sifaren and any other neighbors as well.”
“Gods above, preserve us all…” one of the other councilors said softly, and Beryl smiled thinly in return.
“As I said. We have to enter the war now, before it becomes completely hopeless.”
“Your Majesty, even if we enter the war there’s little chance that we can utterly defeat Kelvanis in just a couple of weeks,” Skyreach cautioned, looking at the map on the wall, with its pins showing troop concentrations. “We just don’t have an advantage of that scale, even with all the allies you’ve mentioned.”
“I know we don’t, but some of the things that were said about the dungeon… they’re trying to draw as large of a concentration of Kelvanis’ army there as possible to tie them down. It’s possible they can do more as well, but we don’t know for certain,” Beryl explained, and then grinned as she added, “Besides, what other choice do we have? I’m certainly not surrendering.”
No one responded, but finally Skyreach sighed and nodded. “I can mobilize everything we have near the front in three days.”
“Excellent. That’ll have to do.” The Queen spoke softly, looking at the others as she asked. “Does anyone disagree?”
There wasn’t a word of disagreement, and Beryl chose to ignore the near-despair on one man’s face.
Chapter 35
“When are we going to be sent back to Beacon?” Desa asked, trying to avoid looking out the window.
“I have no idea,” Rissia replied calmly, efficiently continuing to sew together the signatures of her current bookbinding project. The strange woman was their attendant on a daily basis, and she’d bound at least a dozen books in the last few days. Far stranger to Desa’s eyes was how the book she was working on looked like half the pages had been ruined by water damage. “That’s up to Emonael, and she always has her reasons. I can’t imagine why she rescued you to begin with, but I’m not going to argue.”
“She said something about paying a debt, and that our deaths would undermine the payment,” Alissa said, looking out the window in fascination. Desa couldn’t imagine why the woman kept watching, as the view made her feel somewhat ill.
They were in a palace, complete with a small city around it. The city was populated primarily by humans and elves, but Desa had seen a few dozen dragons along with hundreds of other creatures, including a large number of demons. All of them seemed to be spellcasters or scholars, and it’d taken her some time to realize that these must be the deceased faithful of Emonael.
It was what was beyond the city that made her feel ill. The city was floating in the center of a massive sphere, small continents spreading across the interior of the sphere between the segments of a massive spell-form that seemed to twist as she watched. She knew there were cities on the continents as well, but it was only the first of thirteen nested spheres. It was difficult to see through the gaps of the spheres, but when she could, Desa wished that she wasn’t able to see beyond it, for she was looking onto the blasted demonic landscape of the lower planes.
The land below was often crimson as rust, with occasional patches of vegetation. While there were normal rivers, there were also rivers of lava and mountains of obsidian. Smoke rose into a sky of rippling chaos-light, without a sun or moon to project a sense of normalcy to it. And above it all, among the clouds of smoke, Emonael’s realm floated like a citadel or moon all its own. With the way it made her stomach churn, Desa preferred not looking outward at all.
“Well, if that’s what she said, it should be true. There’s no reason she would have helped you, otherwise,” Rissia replied, tying off the thread and looking up, smiling thinly. “I think the two of you should be thankful for the chance. I know of only five mortals who’ve been guests here in the past millennium.”
“I am thankful. I just… I’d like to go back,” Desa explained, shrugging. She paused, then asked, “Why is that book damaged?”
“Oh, this? This is a tome of lost knowledge regarding water magic. Emonael wants me to plant it in a corner of one of the dungeons in the mortal world,” Rissia replied, and grinned at Desa’s stunned expression.
“Why would she do that? I thought she was the goddess of lost knowledge!” the mage protested, looking at the book in confusion.
“I am, but just because knowledge is lost doesn’t mean it needs to stay lost, Desa,” Emonael answered in Desa’s own voice, stepping into the room with a smile on her face, carrying a book as she wore her strange mirror of Desa’s body. “It’s also part of my duties to ensure that knowledge that’s needed in the world is discovered once again. Forbidden knowledge is something else entirely.”
“L-lady Emonael. Good afternoon,” Alissa stammered, turning quickly and curtseying, swallowing hard to suppress her nervousness. “I wanted to thank you again for rescuing us.”
“Ah, but I didn’t rescue you of my own volition. I made a bargain with you, some of your time and conversation for your freedom. It’s an important distinction,” Emonael replied softly, smiling in return. “I do thank you for the thought, though.”
“Why is that an important distinction?” Desa asked, confused. “And why are you constantly wearing our shapes, but with different colors?”
“If I took my own form in front of you, it’d both ruin the mystery and leave your minds useless, so I prefer to take a shape based on those viewing me. Besides, I’m the Queen in Mirrors, so it’s only appropriate to mirror you, no?” Emonael answered, then glancing upward as she murmured, “As to the other… well, you’re going to find out shortly. I do believe that my bit of subterfuge is about to finally be unmasked.”
“What?” Desa asked, as even Rissia looked at the goddess in confusion.
Emonael smiled and offered Desa the book she was carrying. “Here, a bit of reading material for while you’re here. Eskar’s Frozen Soul, a treatise on ice magic from before the Godsrage. You might even be able to decipher it.”
“Umm… okay…” Desa murmured, taking the book and wondering what the goddess had been talking about.
“What’s going on here? These threads… they shouldn’t be behaving this way. Their lives aren’t supposed to be continuing this far…” Fate murmured softly, examining the incredible complexity of his tapestry.
As the war in the mortal world between Kelvanis and Sifaren progressed, the tapestry had been impacted at least a dozen times. That wasn’t supposed to happen, and that it was occurring was all but driving Fate mad. The tapestry was supposed to take into account changes to the destiny and choices of mortals from the beginning to the end of time itself and show the future nearly perfectly. Only if someone managed to make a decision that all of time and destiny hadn’t expecte
d did the tapestry shift, and that it had this many times was worrying.
Something was wrong, and Fate looked at the tapestry still more closely than he normally did. Even closer than he had when he’d first suspected someone interfering in the destinies of others. At last he frowned, looking at a thread that shimmered oddly in his close examination. Tapping the thread, the illusion masking it shattered at his touch, and piece by piece, an elaborate illusion shattered all around the tapestry as he looked on in open-mouthed shock.
Much of the tapestry was unchanged, but one thread that had seemed entirely uninvolved was instead interwoven deeply into the events in Kelvanis, and the effects on the rest of the tapestry were incalculable. Staring at it for a moment, Fate’s brow furrowed in thunderous rage, and his shout shook the entirety of the Palace of Fate.
“EMONAEL!”
It suddenly felt like the air around Desa had frozen solid, and a strange shattering sound filled the air, even as the floor trembled underneath the mage’s feet. For an instant she thought it was just her, but then she saw Alissa clutch at the window as if to steady herself.
“How rude,” Emonael said in an irritable tone, and stamped her foot once. With the impact, the floor shuddered a last time, then steadied once more.
It took a few more moments, but then the air in front of them split open and an immense silver mist came through it. The power that enveloped Desa felt like it should have been suffocating, but there was a strange sensation about it, as though it wasn’t quite real. Moments later the mist swirled, coalescing into the form of a distinguished older man with silver eyes and hair, and an enraged look on his face.
“Emonael, how dare you interfere in the flow of destiny? You’re going to answer to the Primals for your temerity in breaking divine law!” the man thundered, pointing at the goddess. His voice echoed like it should have shaken the world itself, but it was slightly muffled. It took Desa a moment to realize a thin, shimmering barrier surrounded Emonael and intruder.
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