by Stone Thomas
“And literary genius,” I said. “Oh, and advanced mathematics.”
Valona’s eyes traveled toward mine for a moment, but her face was resolute. “I ask this: how would the world differ under your command?”
“I have no intention of leading the pantheon,” she said.
“Then you lack the foresight befitting a goddess of premonition,” Valona said. “You bristle against the Great Mother’s control, yet you don’t side with her main adversary. You are cutting your own path, goddess. There are three gods vying for control of the world, and you are the third.”
“My issues with the Great Mother are what they are,” Nola said. “My only goal here is to stop Duul.”
“Your city is small, but your congregation grows at a rapid pace,” Valona said. “The races live together here in harmony, and your residents have many rare classes that suit them for battle. Your rise to power contradicts everything the Great Mother stands for and she will not let you pass unchallenged. You have crossed a line, young goddess. I have seen the wrath of our matriarch firsthand, and I believe it shall aim at you next.”
“Is that why you haven’t accepted the shrine?” Nola asked.
“Let me answer you with another question,” Valona said. “My daughter has arrested Kāya’s soul. I shall conduct a reckoning. What afterlife is fair?”
“I wish Kāya and I had more time together,” Nola said. “She was afraid Duul would hurt her mother, and she wasn’t sure what future she could possibly have under the Great Mother’s rule. She wasn’t bad, not at heart. Just lost.”
“She tried to kill you,” Valona said.
“But she didn’t,” Nola said.
“She has death on her hands,” Valona said. “A man named Jorgo, for one. He died here, but his fatal wounds came from her familiar. Tell me where to send her.”
Nola furrowed her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t presume to. My heart goes out to Kāya, but assigning her soul to an afterlife is not my place. That decision is yours alone.”
Valona regarded Nola for a long time. Then, a beam of dark energy shot up from the shrine Nola had dedicated to her.
“Thank you,” Nola said.
“I’m not through,” Valona said. The goddess of life after life knelt before Nola. She was several centuries old at least, her wrinkled skin still sagging from a long imprisonment without vibrant souls to nourish her. Her small elven shape made her appear even older, but no less powerful. Here was a woman who ruled over multiple realms, kneeling before a much younger goddess. My goddess.
Valona spoke slowly and clearly. “I have feared for life and limb; suffered under a despot’s whim; seen a future dire and grim; and teetered at the edge. Yet, in you I sense an earnest truth; a soul too wise for all your youth; a path away from claw and tooth; and thence, my fealty pledge.”
Nola’s back stiffened and her eyes went wide. Even she didn’t see this coming.
“I didn’t know gods could pledge fealty,” I said.
Valona stood. “It is an old practice, and perhaps it has fallen away. In pledging my fealty to you, Nola, I promise to stand by you against the wicked forces at work in this world. There are others who will join your war, even if you don’t believe yet that you’re leading one.”
“And I will do everything I can,” Nola replied, “to ensure that you, and Reyna, and every soul alive has a place and purpose in this world, and in the worlds beyond.”
I rubbed Mamba’s back while she knelt on the ground, wiping a few last tears from her face.
“The necklace Duul wore,” I said.
“Nexus glass,” Valona said. “It takes great power and energy to govern the realms. I wore a set of five pieces of divine armor crafted from the nexus itself. When worn together, they provide greater bonus. The Great Mother took them from me and buried them in vaults throughout the world of vibrant light.
“She claimed the day might come when she would stoop to wear those jewels, but until then no proof of my existence would grace her world.”
“The mountain vault,” I said. “We have an imperial lawmonger here, and we sent adventurers to recover something from a vault in the mountains. He said it was an emergency vault of some kind, but he had a key to it.”
“You are not the only ones in search of that power,” Valona said. “Duul has found my necklace. Four relics remain.”
“Would any of them break the curse Duul cast on Mamba?” I asked. “I’ll leave this minute to find them if I have to.”
Valona walked up to Mamba and placed a hand on her shoulder. For the first time, the goddess smiled. “I do sense the swell of new life inside you, dear woman. I cannot say whether Duul is the reason.”
“So it might be Arden’s?” Mamba asked.
“Any child of Mamba’s is a child of mine,” I said, “and a child of Halcyon. I don’t care whether it has horns, or fangs, or a sharp pointy tail. We’ll figure this out.”
Never tell a pregnant woman that her baby might have horns, Nola said. She’ll have to push that sucker out of her somehow. Ouch ouch ouch.
“I’m so sorry,” Mamba said. “I should have listened to you. I should have stayed away from the rex fulmin. It was just, I didn’t want Duul to hurt it.”
“You did everything right,” I said.
Something in the forest collapsed in an eruption of crackling flame and splitting wood. Ambry walked toward us, with Lily behind her. All she said was, “Done.”
The pillar of gloom once spewing from Duul’s tower had ceased. The black clouds blanketing our hill dissipated, revealing a perfect blue sky and the sun high overhead.
“So that’s the sun?” Reyna asked. She held her arms out and tilted her face to the sky. I took another long look at her perfect body. Even in the sun, the shadows that wrapped around her didn’t fade. Her long white hair blew in a gentle breeze while she took a long, deep breath. “It’s comforting. I like it.”
“Stay,” I said. “I have this terrible feeling that if you go through that rift you won’t come back.”
“We have too much work to do,” Reyna said. “I have to help my mother rebuild. But I’ll be back. You still owe me some one-on-one time.” She turned away, and followed Valona back to the underworld. She looked back to blow me a kiss at the last second, catching me watching her round, ample rear as she went.
“Really?” she asked, though obviously not to me. “He’s a breast man and an ass man?”
+64
“Everyone!” Nola announced. “We have a tradition here in Halcyon. When we almost die, but then somehow beat back the forces of darkness and pull a happy ending out of our… thin air… we feast! Bring out the meat, the wine, the sweet rolls. The day is young and bright, and we are all still alive!”
“We also do the whole evolution and leveling thing,” I said. “Have you absorbed enough energy to evolve?”
“I don’t think I have,” she said. “But let’s get my evolution crystal. Resting inside it helps me digest souls faster. Ambry! I’ll need help thawing the temple door.”
“We’ll come too,” Mamba said. “Vix has been down there this whole time.” She laced her fingers between mine and we started to walk.
“Is it bad that I’m nervous?” I asked.
“It would be bad if you weren’t,” Nola said. “Let’s go.”
We crossed the hill, walking past a hundred glowing energems that would add to our defenses in the days to come. The portal arch stood firm, and beyond that, stone steps led down to the temple’s front door.
Ambry melted the ice that sealed over the solid gold slab door, and we entered the temple together.
I ran to the infirmary. “Vix,” I said. Lana stood there with two children — my children — wrapped in her arms. Vix held two more while the gypsy mommas stood close by.
“You missed all the yelling and screaming,” Vix said.
“Lana,” I said, “I thought you would use Flicker of Mercy to make this easier.”
“I did,” she said.
“It was the babies yelling and screaming. They’re all asleep now though. Here, say hello to your daughter, Moxine.” She passed me a swaddled blanket. I pulled the cloth away with one finger, careful not to wake her.
Her hair was short and dark red. Tiny little fox ears poked up when I pulled the blanket back further. Her face was red too, covered in fur. I tugged the blanket some more. Every inch of her little body was fur. She was a tiny canine, with four legs ending in paws with pads on the end. She was all beast and no kin!
“Vix,” I whispered. “Vix, this is… I mean… Vix?”
“I was surprised too,” Vix said. “Mixing human and beastkin parents, you never know what’s going to happen.”
“We never really talked about that,” I said.
“It’s no big deal,” she said. “She’s just a little less fox than a full foxkin would be. You can see it in her eyes, and her cute little nose. Her baby fur will go away in a couple of weeks, maybe sooner since she’s half human.”
“Less fox,” I said. “So she’ll have arms and legs like ours?”
“They all will,” she said. “Our beautiful little girl and three healthy boys — Rixor, Daxon, and Ardex.”
“So you did give me a junior,” I said.
“It’s the least I could do,” she said. “When I met you, my biggest concern was escaping from a family that was forcing me to marry noxious Loxin just so we could have purebred babies. I never dreamed we’d have little foxy cubs of our own. I wonder if my parents will accept them, or if they’ll snub them as tainted and deformed.”
“They’d be fools not to love them,” I said. “These babies are perfect.”
“They really are,” a man said. I had missed him when I walked in, the short blue elf crouched by the side of Vix’s recovery bed.
“Greggin,” I said. “Somewhere I didn’t expect you. Again.”
“I was in the temple when your ice queen froze over the door,” he said. “Now that it’s open, I’ll be on my way.”
“It’s dangerous out there,” I said. “You could just stay.”
“My research awaits,” he said. “It’s back to the mountains with me, in search of the lost gods and a city of stone. Congratulations to your family, and do tell Mayblin that she’s lovely but my studies have called me away. I’m sure she’ll understand, or at least that she’ll pretend to.” The elven academic brushed off his pants and strode out of the infirmary’s door.
Something rattled while I wasn’t looking. I turned back to find Mamba holding Moxine in one hand and the tail-end of a rattlesnake in the other.
“Ah, maybe that’s not a toy,” I said. “We’ll get them proper rattles soon.”
“My snakie doesn’t mind,” she said. “Snakes love babies!”
“I think he’s worried,” Cindra said, “that your snakes will love those babies a little too much.”
“Cindra!” I yelled. “You look…”
“Phenomenal?” she asked. “I hope so, because that’s how I feel. It was touch-and-go for a bit, but Mercifer’s assistance left me feeling complete in a way I didn’t know I lacked. My body feels sturdy and powerful, and my mind is sharp and ready. I had to lie down again before the end of the battle, but I trust you wiped the floor with Duul’s dusty old mug?”
“We all did,” I said. “We’re celebrating up top. Why don’t I catch everyone up over a nice glass of plumberry wine?”
“That sounds nice,” Vix said. She glanced at the newborns in her arms.
“Go,” Lana said. “The gypsy mommas are here and we can take care of a few sleeping babies.”
“Thank you!” Vix said. “Don’t let them sleep in the recovery beds though. I don’t want them growing up when I’m not looking. I don’t want to miss anything.”
A scraping sound drew my attention to Nola’s main sanctuary. We walked in on Nola dragging her massive evolution crystal against the temple’s stone floor.
“Let me help with that,” I said.
“No,” Vix said. “Let me.”
“Vix,” I said, “you’ve had enough labor for one day.”
“I was so focused on the shrines that I never got to use Sites Templar in here,” she said. “This is a temple, sure, but only because we worship Nola here. That’s like calling a stone cylinder a ‘shrine.’ It’s really not complete until you activate it. Watch.”
Vix walked over to Nola’s altar and rubbed her hands against its surface. The plain slab of brown stone began to glow in Vix’s signature orange color. “Come here,” she said.
Nola walked over next. Vix took the goddess’s hands and pressed them against the altar. Its glow changed from orange to yellow, radiating a soft golden hue.
The longer she pressed her hands against the altar, the further that glow spread. The floor beneath the altar stayed the same rocky texture, but its color turned gold. Splotches of pastel yellow crept up the walls and ceiling.
Just as Gowes’ old temple was cheery cyan all the way through, Nola’s had absorbed her own color, her divine energy. This rocky old cave had finally become her true home.
“One of the benefits of activating the temple,” Vix said, “is that the walls are attuned to your holy power. You should be able to store your crystal now, and summon it wherever you are on the hill.”
Nola walked back toward her crystal. It was a six-sided chamber with walls like polished glass. She waved her hand, and it split into a million tiny fragments that shot toward the walls and sank into them. She waved again, and those fragments fled the walls and re-formed the crystal in a matter of seconds.
“I’m really going to enjoy this,” Nola said. “Let’s show everyone my new trick.”
Just then, a man appeared in the temple’s doorway. It was Gowes, with Eranza standing behind him.
“We saw the black clouds from afar,” Gowes said, out of breath. “We made record time getting back. Is everything alright?”
“Where were you?” Nola asked.
Gowes’ face lost its smile. “Valleyvale, or at least, the crater it left behind. I thought we had time before the battle began here and I wanted to pay my respects to my old home. I am happy that Halcyon welcomes all, and I truly believe this city will flourish into greatness, but Valleyvale was my home for many years. I am not without sadness that it is gone, and I am rather old for starting over.”
Nola threw her arms around the cyan god. “Uncle Gowes, please say you’ll make Halcyon your home now. I know it’s not conventional for more than one adult god to inhabit the same city, but who cares? I built you a shrine, and people here know and love you. Stay.”
“I wish your mother were here to see you now,” he said. “Yes, I will stay. When we learn how the shrine works, I’ll happily accept it.”
“We did,” Nola said. “We just need your familiar. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen your familiars before.”
“Oh,” Gowes said. “It would be my pleasure to summon one now.”
A light blue creature formed with the head of a fish, without the eyes but wearing a small triangular hat. Its body was thin and sleek, leading to feet shaped like an outstretched pair of tail fins. It just stood there, flopping its mouth open and closed.
“My karpies don’t do much beside brighten a room,” Gowes said. “But I’m sure by the time I unlock their third tier, my familiars will be a sight to behold.”
“Until then,” I said, “let’s stop beholding this one. He’s got a fishy smell.”
“Isn’t it lovely?” Gowes asked. “Salty and clean like the Savior’s Sea. I’ll bring him to the shrine now.”
The rest of us headed to the top of the hill where Yurip stood in front of a table piled high with papers and pouches. His arms were crossed and his foot tapped madly against the ground. He relaxed when he saw us approach.
“Attention!” he yelled. His high, stringent voice cut across the crowd and silenced everyone. He seemed pleased.
“I have in my hand the results of Halcyon’s first election,” h
e continued. “Your official Mayor; the representative to whom the empire will address official communications; the person making final economic and taxation policy; the man determining defense and battle preparedness; the—”
“Yurip?” I asked.
“Right,” he said. “The winner is Arden Hochbright!”
People cheered. I walked over to Yurip and the table he had set up. “Where is Gruppin?”
“I gave him the results early,” Yurip said, “in case he wanted to leave. He left for Roseknob that moment.”
“During the battle?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “As I hid in my office — worked, I mean, I was working!” Then, leaning closer, “The results were not unanimous. There were many people that voted against you. You will have work to do, real work, if you want to maintain everyone’s confidence.”
“I know I will,” I said. “Did you finish the task I gave you?”
He gestured toward the table behind him. “You know I work quickly.”
“How much did we mint?” I asked.
“One hundred thousand gold coins, give or take. We had more gold, but we had to stop minting because silver and copper were running low. There are 40 silvers in a gold coin, and 20 coppers in a silver, so we minted a lot more of those.”
I smiled and turned to the crowd. “Many of you were involved in our recent efforts to mint coins from the precious metals we mined. What I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t want it to affect the election, was that I’m giving a lot of it away. Prepare for Halcyon’s first economically stimulating package! It’s a big one.”
Do you say these things on purpose?, Nola asked.
It’s not like I plan out what I’m going to say beforehand, I said.
Now that, I believe.
“My first official act as Mayor is to give you each one of these.” I gestured to a mound of small pouches. “Each pouch contains a tiny energem, the kind that our earlier residents fill each day with their action energy and provide to Nola as an offering. It isn’t mandatory, but it helps our city grow.
“Each pouch also contains ten gold coins, one hundred silver, and a thousand copper.” Residents approached the table and began taking pouches one at a time. They poured coins into their hands and chattered amongst themselves.