Gagaran sat in the tavern in E-Rantel. "Gawdammit." She cursed and glanced at the snow falling outside. She flipped the mug over and slammed it down. "How'd this happen?" She murmured, "How, huh?" She cursed a few times and looked around at no one. There was nobody to ask, despite the fact that on this cold winter evening, the tavern was full of people, nobody was even close to her little booth. Even the other tables had been inched farther away from the giant of a woman.
Her usually broad smile had been flipped on its head and she stared down at the table, "Well, table, you and ah... Mugsy..." she glanced at the stack of empty mugs that took on the vague shape of a face as a result of their placement, "are the only ones here right now, so you tell me, what're you thinkin?"
The mugs didn't talk to her, it would take dozens more empties before that would happen. A buxom young woman with long golden tresses approached with a tray full of beer mugs, and to Gagaran's great relief, the woman simply set the tray down on the table and walked away. Inside the mugs were thick white heads atop what she knew was a thick yellow beer. "Least that talks to me." Gagaran cursed and slumped, and snatched up one of the foamy mugs and began to quaff the contents like she was dying of thirst.
"Testified against her, got a guilty verdict, just what I wanted... so why do I feel like such... shit?" The warrior woman grumbled, "She's locked up in the estate, never going to put my sisters at risk again, not going to get them killed... I helped put that danger down... so why... why did it turn out like this?" She asked for the hundredth time, somewhere in the tavern, someone began singing a holiday drinking song.
"God's bones... happiness. Ugh, last thing I wanted right now... can't anyone just let an adventurer get drunk and miserable in peace?" She groused under her breath.
"Gagaran? Gagaran is that you?" A somewhat familiar voice said from a few feet behind her.
She raised a fist and slammed it down on the table. The table jumped from the force and mugs tumbled onto their sides, some toppled clean off the table and clattered to the floor. Half the tavern jumped with a start at the furious and sudden noise, falling all quiet for a moment to stare at the giantess sitting alone with none but mugs for company.
"Damn… there was still beer in some'a those." She murmured and whipped her head around to yell at the half familiar voice. Whatever words she was about to shout all died away when she looked at the boy who had become a man, standing before her.
"Climb?!" She exclaimed with widening eyes. "What are you doing here?!"
The young man strode over to her, evidently unperturbed by her outburst, he thrust out his hand as soon as he stood beside her place in the booth.
She took it, she still easily engulfed him with her massive grip but when she stood up, albeit swaying a little, she didn't have to look so far down to meet his eyes anymore.
His beard was thick and blonde despite the fact that he was a relatively young man still, his eyes held the sharpness of a war veteran, and his grip was stronger than she ever remembered.
"I'm here on business, my wife is here as the Prime Minister for the King, she's working out a labor trade with Governor Rockbruise. No excitement for Climb anymore but…" he trailed off and gave a bit of a laugh, "After conflict, capture, and everything else that happened? Yeah…" He rubbed the back of his blonde head with a sheepish grin that was not quite as boyish as it had been years before, "some quiet times are just what the healer ordered."
His spirit was so high and his happiness unexpectedly refreshing, and so despite her sour state, Gagaran couldn't find it in herself to take it out on him. The cheerful mood had resumed and songs were taken up again, well away from herself, and so she waved to the seat opposite herself.
"I guesh I can't call you 'cherry boy' any more." Her large squared jaw dropped in a genuine laugh while he helped himself to one of the beers that had somehow lost only half its contents and not fallen over. "But it sure is good to see a friendly fashe." A loud belch came out a moment later, putting out the scent of expensive beer over the whole table.
"No, I guess not." Climb managed a self deprecating laugh at her mockery and took a sip, politely ignoring the smell of too much beer from one person. He looked up to her and his genuine, sincere expression stopped another bad joke from coming past her lips.
"You alright, Gagaran? I mean it's been a few years but, well, you know… everything." His great big puppy-dog eyes lingered up at her, and the sudden shift in mood from morose and furious to happy and gregarious, returned to morose again.
"I'm here alone, aren't I?" The giant of a woman said to him with a pathetic, hangdog smile.
"No, I'm here." He said with a wink, and she raised her head a little.
"You were always a good man, even when you were nothing but a good boy… alwaysh liked you, worried about you, you know. All of us did, not a lot of good people in a world like this one. It chews em up, and shits em out into holes in the ground. A good kid in love is a tragedy waiting to happen, shpecially one who takes up a sword." Her shaky hand reached out over the table, her massive armored arm had broken grown men and weak monsters with ease, and yet even though she trembled with drunkenness, when she put her hand on his forearm, it was as gentle as a mother's touch.
"We were all glad you got to grow up, shpecially me… cherry boy." Gagaran gave him a weak grin that was barely visible even considering the size of her mouth.
"Me too, it was always a narrow thing until… well, you know, you were in the thick of it. So… is it true, they're going to turn? Lakyus, Tia, and Tina?" Climb asked of her and to that, the giantess nodded.
"Yes, not yet a'course, but they're gonna before long. Couple'a more things that demoness and her lover want to check, but they're going to be his first powerful test subjects." Gagaran explained with a roll of her eyes. "No thanks, that's not for me."
"Oh? What'll you do?" Climb asked, his curiosity bringing about a shift of subject that seemed welcome for the present.
"I like being human, shorty is staying a vampire and that's… that's fine. She's our Keeno, wouldn't have her other than she is, I thought about that, and that's pretty close. But instead, I decided to go for a runecraft experiment, trying to make rune enhanced people. I'll just eat some magic apples or something every now and then and stay young." Gagaran looked out the window where snow had begun to fall, the chill outside was great, but it didn't touch this little space that was the tavern or the table at which she sat.
"I just don't want to stop being human, Lakyus always was an angel by nature, so… I guess transforming her to that makes sense, but still, I like being how I am. So I'll just be me with more power, that's plenty." She said and hiccupped a few times before pounding her armored chest.
"Right, that makes sense, but…" Having had distraction enough, Climb leaned forward, "really, what's going on?"
"Told you, I'm alone here. My sisters are out and about, I don't know where, we still haven't quite, you know, made things right between us. Tia, Tina and I still talk, but they never say much anyway. Who knows what they really think, but Lakyus and Keeno, they took things hard. Harder than I expected."
"I know it must have stung…" Climb said as gently as he could, and Gagaran's fist clenched.
"I know that too!" Gagaran hissed, "Testifying against the pope in that trial* wasn't easy. I didn't hate Neia for what she did, not even for what happened to me. I was just trying to do the right thing, but to Keeno, and because of her, Lakyus…" Gagaran trailed off.
"It felt like you were one of the old guard, the old religion… the one that condemned her as a monster." Climb drew the conclusion for her, and Gagaran didn't even bother to nod.
"I tried to tell them it was just to protect them, that it was because Pope Neia was just far too dangerous to have wandering around free. I was just protecting the ones I cared about. I don't secretly think less of Keeno for being a vampire, or sympathize with the old gods or their deluded followers. One had nothing to do with the other. Why don't they see that?!" Gagaran demanded and gritted her teeth, her entire body tense as if ready for a fight.
"Maybe they do and they just aren't ready to accept that. I was watching the trial, we all were." Climb replied and took up the mug again to drink it down, he slapped the base of the wooden mug down on the table, "But they're family, maybe not by blood, but blood means nothing, except to vampires, and even to them it just means 'snack time'."
Gagaran reared back in her seat at the sudden ferocious statement, but Climb was not done.
"I heard a saying once, 'The blood of the battlefield is thicker than the water of the womb.' I'm sure they haven't forgotten that. It's just that they had a lifetime of battlefield blood in a very short span of time, and that is tough to deal with when you're at odds. Maybe they're not even mad, maybe it's just 'hurt' and hurt doesn't have to be rational." Climb snorted, "I know that better than anyone."
It was his turn to look away, out the window and into the winter chill, "I've been in love with my wife since I was too small to really understand what that even meant. But… I had to live in the palace to be close to her. The contempt the old nobility held for me, even the servants? You heap that on a little boy for long enough, it's tough to let go of. None of it was rational, and even though it shouldn't have, it got to me, and that wasn't rational either. They're all gone now, my wife had them gotten rid of. Most of them hanged for treason after the war anyway, what was left, adapted or lost their status."
He shook his head, "I'm sorry, that's not really something I should bother you about, life is good for me now and that's what matters. Everything worked out."
"I suppose it did, and I'm glad for you." Gagaran said, and meant it.
"Are you going to be here in E-Rantel for long?" Climb asked with a gentle voice and slowly moved out of the booth to stand up.
"Yeah, I'm helping with the local adventurer's guild here, Lord Mare wanted some new ideas for environments, and the Guildmaster wanted some sense knocked into some novice members. Gotta do something with these muscles, and plus there's bound to be a few cherry boys there." She gave a sardonic wink to Climb, and he approached without laughter to put a hand up on her shoulder.
"Great, you have fun, I'll reach out to you in a few days. Maybe I'll stop by the guild and let you throw me around into the snow some. Even I can handle that much." He gave her a smile that was made less boyish by the thick golden beard, and Gagaran gave him a very mild punch to the gut that drew a faint 'oof' from him.
"Never change." He wheezed at the woman when he held the spot she'd struck.
"Never plan to." Gagaran winked, and went back to drinking while Climb made his exit, still melodramatically clutching his gut until the tavern door shut behind him. Her mood considerably improved from the company of an old friend, she didn't see him straighten up as soon as he left.
'After all they did for me, it's time I return the favor.' Climb resolved, and made his way straight to the Governor's estate.
Leinas Rockbruise put a stamp onto the document in front of her. The sentence was then commuted to one of two years labor sale and a one year sentence in runic experimentation. "Amazing what people will volunteer for." She said to herself and set it aside, criminals were vanishingly rare in E-Rantel, most of those there were, were ones who committed financial crimes where they thought paper would hide their misdeeds. "Well, crazy in one thing, cray in another." She shrugged it off and went to the next document, suppressing the mental groan when she saw it was budgetary.
"Adventuring, this is not." Leinas sighed, then reached up and touched the formerly cursed eye and savored the fact that it was as it should be. The smile that spread out was genuine, and she bent over to work with gusto for the sake of the king who cured her.
Her good intentions were interrupted by a knock at the door and her secretary poked his head in. "Ma'am, you have a visitor, Climb of the Royal family from Re-Estize."
Leinas blinked a few times at the unexpected, "Let him in." She said with her customary military crispness and set her quill aside. 'What could Climb want? Other than being the 'stud' of the Princess and Prime Minister, he has very little in the way of official obligations.' The curiosity that made her take up adventuring in the first place… and a little bit of her eagerness to avoid dealing with the budget, drove her to focus her attention on the unexpected visit of the young man.
She stood when he entered, he was everything one would expect, as if he'd been born a nobleman rather than brought into it. Tall, broad shouldered, a thick bushy golden beard and sharp, steady eyes of the sort veteran warriors had. No longer the runt he had been, he was now in the flower of his manhood.
"Climb, this is unexpected." She said with easy warmth that was becoming more natural as time passed.
"Expect the unexpected, especially when you least expect it." He replied and put his hand out to her own. The measure of one another's grip was amiable, and she waved to the chair in front of her desk.
"Uh huh." She said dryly and they seated themselves at the same moment. "What can I do for you?" She asked, all business all of a sudden.
"Your painting is coming along nicely." He said, gesturing to the portrait of the Sorcerer King ascending the steps of the temple at Arwintar.
"Thank you." She said when she reflexively glanced at the canvas still on the easel. "I work on it whenever I have free time, you should see the pile of canvases I've wasted trying to get things just right."
"Getting things just right is always the hardest thing. Good enough is usually the best people bother with, but that's what makes the ones that say 'good enough, isn't' stand out so much." He replied with obvious praise, but her ears pricked up, the way he looked at the canvas, it told her something else was on his mind.
"Right… but you're not here about my painting." Leinas replied and folded her hands together in front of her on the smooth dark wooden desk.
"You followed the trial, didn't you?" Climb asked, folding his hands over one another on his lap.
"Of course, I personally attended to His Majesty for some time.** I couldn't 'not' follow the trial of his daughter. I watched every witness testimony and was even prepared to give it myself if I had to." Leinas answered with passion and wide parted eyes.
"Then you know something of what happened with Blue Rose." Climb guessed.
"They're an adamantite team, it's my job to know what goes on with them, but… on a personal level I admit I don't know a great deal." Leinas admitted, then asked, "Why?"
"They're old, dear friends. The Trial put them at odds with one another, Lakyus grew to be a very close friend of Neia and her wife, not least because of what Neia's preaching did for Keeno, giving her a place in the world. But Gagaran volunteered to arrest the pope, and testified against her. Gagaran had her reasons, but that stung. The thing is, they're still family, and I want to do 'something' to help." Climb leaned forward imploringly, but Leinas only raised her eyebrow.
"How? First off, it's a bad idea to meddle in family matters, second of all, what do you think 'I' can do for you even if that were a good idea?"
"I want to reserve a hall for the New Year. Ever since that holiday was introduced, it's been a popular one for burying old grudges and starting fresh, I figured-" Climb explained, only to stop when Leinas interrupted him.
"You may be grown up now, but you're still as idealistic as ever. You think they'll take one look at one another, remember everything good, run into each other's arms and make amends?" Leinas shook her head.
Governor Rockbruise spread her hands out on her desk and explained in a more gentle voice, "Healing takes time, sometimes years, sometimes it never happens. Let's be honest, with the Pope now on lifetime house arrest, that's a bitter pill to swallow. How eager would you be to forgive Gagaran if she did something that saw your wife confined to her house for her entire life?"
"Not very. I might never." Climb's eyes fell to the desk, the polished surface reflected his face back up at him and not for the first time, he marveled that it was the face of an adult and no longer a boy. He answered with a man's resolve, raising his eyes to the governor. "But even so, nothing happens unless something happens, and I wouldn't be me if I didn't at least try. All I'm asking you to do is let me borrow one of the public halls, and a handful of message scrolls. If I beat my head against the wall of impossibility one more time, yes, I may fail, but you fail at everything you never try. They're my friends, and friends are the only family I had until my wife. I have to do something."
"I'm not going to talk you out of this, am I?" Leinas asked of the vigorous young man.
"No, you're not." He said, and though his hands were in his lap, the tension of his muscles revealed that he'd clenched his hands into fists.
"Fine, the halls are usually reserved well in advance but… as a favor to the Royal Family of Re-Estize, I can make this happen for you." Leinas then opened a drawer without making a sound, withdrew a piece of paper, and dipping her quill a few times into the ink, she wrote a quick note. She then closed the drawer, affixed her seal to the bottom of the paper, and slid it across the desk to Climb.
"Here, this authorizes you the use of as many message scrolls as you need, plus two 'gate' spells or scrolls. I'm exercising my discretion on the 'gate' use, that's typically emergencies only, but there is a bit of a surplus now and an adamantite team's unity is arguably worth it. But don't ask me for more." Leinas said while he read it over.
"Thank you!" He said with a loud and eager voice, it was hard not to like his youthful enthusiasm, and so when he stood and thrust his hand out, she let his wild eager shaking take place without resistance.
"Youthful enthusiasm…" She muttered when she waved off his gratitude and watched him depart. "Still, I know what he means about friends and family…" She recalled the way her own family had thrown her away with her mutilation, only to find comrades who would not leave her to the world to prey on.
Her eyes fell to the painting that she hadn't worked on in days. "Maybe a short break, I'm feeling… inspired." She said, and absently reached for a message scroll, her inspiration coupled with a wish to see a good friend. "I wonder how Aureole is doing, it's been awhile…"
Neia was sitting in a simple chair surrounded by other war veterans. There were others present, though not a one of those around her could have been said to be of a famous name. Two were grizzled farmers and dressed accordingly with simple cotton tunics of brown and grey, with basic leather shoes made at their own homes or from their own villages crude carpenter. Another was a merchant of modest success, with better clothing by a degree or two. Three more were tradesmen. Belts around their waists revealed the nature of their crafts, a blacksmith, a carpenter, and a mason, with hammers of various types each according to their need.
None of them, Neia knew, would be remembered much beyond their lifetime, and even then only by their immediate family. Within a hundred years, not even their names would be left. While her own, she had no doubt, would last down through countless ages. Yet her chair was no more comfortable than theirs, and she waited her turn to speak, listening to a merchant sob on the shoulders of a farmer, tears of a lifetime, the price for one year and some of war.
"You have nothing to be ashamed of. None of you do." The facilitator said with a gentle voice, she was a statuesque elven woman, her ears had not been healed, though most elves chose to have their mutilation repaired, many, like her, especially like her, had not. She approached the merchant, and gently took his hand up in her own, slender fingers wrapping around his wrist, she leaned forward and put it over her mutilation.
"It wasn't for nothing, for so many of us, it was everything." Her melodic voice washed over him like a cleansing rain, and she kissed his forehead in a gesture of gratitude, the reminder was not for him alone.
Enlaith felt him come back to himself with the gesture, 'Humans… such a strange lot, lives so brief that they barely exist at all, and yet look at what they endure in such little time. Look at what they produce.' She pondered, not looking over her shoulder to the Pope, her Dark Savior and the mother of terror. Here she wasn't a legend, just a woman in need who had drunk too deeply from the cup of war and would never be the same again.
When it came to her turn, the famous speaker with her straw blonde hair gripped her outrageously expensive pants so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "It's been three years since I was found guilty, and I still think about the man I killed in court. I still think about the victims I couldn't avenge, and I wonder how many like that man are still out there, living life like they hadn't done terrible things. If I weren't confined here, I'd be out hunting them still, I'm sure. Even though General Enri, no… Governor Enri now, is busy doing so, I want to do it myself. I just get so… so…" She hung on the unspoken word and shook until Enlaith took her hand.
"Angry!" Neia finally found the word. "I'm just angry all the time and I hate it! I don't… well, I still get nightmares sometimes, my wife is very patient with me, but I just get so damned angry over everything, sometimes it's hard even to let her touch me… but I'm trying. It's just, it's so hard to let go of all that hatred. I mean they even tried to kill my baby when he was being born.*** How do I let go of hate like that? I just, I don't know sometimes. At least… I haven't felt suicidal in some time.**** That is something at least." She managed to crack a fragile smile.
"You're trying to find your way again, that's all. It's a long road home, and you're doing it right. Just let it out, reach out for help, and keep trying no matter how often you fall, we will pick you up again, that's what comrades, friends, family, and community are for. If they're not, then what's the point of any of it?" Enlaith kissed her savior's forehead, and when the memories of the massacre of Wheaten and the horrors of the Breaker Academy***** hit home, the mother of terror wept for what she'd seen and done, and let a farmer hold on until she was herself again.
Eventually the meeting ended, and she stood to make her way toward the exit, the little building in which they sat was a little nothing of a box added at her own request after the estate was built, it wasn't part of the main house, nor was it even visible. It was set in a garden area off the main building, surrounded by open ground and trees beyond, a small pond close to the grass, that was now buried in snow, and a double row of high trees over a narrow path down which her group's members could walk for their weekly therapy session. It was meant to look like a paradise of peace, and the elves who volunteered to tend it, kept it as such. The trees made even more shade now, with their boughs heavy with snow, but the crystal white beauty of it was enchanting as much as it was when green in the fullness of Spring.
"Thank you again, Enlaith, you're the best." Neia said when she looked up at the taller woman, her eyes lingering on the mutilated ears, Enlaith put a loving hand on the cheek of the pope.
"Only because your sacrifices made it possible, and not to worry, I'll have these healed one day, when there's nobody who needs to remember it happened." She said, and held the door open to allow them all to exit.
No sooner than Neia had left them all behind by a dozen steps when heading to the main house than the message came in.
"Pope Neia, this is Climb, I need your help." Neia heard the boy's voice, it was deeper than she recalled from their very brief association, and more than that it was wholly unexpected. Her feet crunched over the snow until she stopped dead in her tracks.
"Climb, what do you need?" Neia's voice was a little more raw even in her own mind, but when he answered, he had her full attention.
"I want to help Lakyus, and Blue Rose… if you're willing." Climb answered, if there was criticism implied in the way he said it, she chose to ignore it.
"You had me at 'Lakyus' tell me what you need." Neia answered immediately.
"I need you to make things right with Gagaran." Climb replied as if he'd asked for the time of day.
"I don't hold a grudge against her, my wife does, but I say now what I say the day she took me away to prison. I'm glad she kept her justice." Neia retorted, and for a moment there was silence.
"Please, there must be something you can do." Climb implored, and Neia thought it over.
"I don't know, they have their own minds about what happened, but they are family still, the hurt ran deep but, you don't need me to talk to Gagaran, I don't think. Instead, you need me to talk to Keeno." Neia suggested as her thoughts turned toward the complex web of relationships and how they worked.
"Alright, then do that, listen to me, I'm going to arrange a gathering of heroes on the New Year, it's a bit of a short notice, only a few weeks, but I think most would be happy to come to something like that. All I'm asking is for you to get them to come. Maybe try to make things 'ready' for them to make peace again. Can you help me with this?" Climb's voice was so idealistic and hopeful even in a magic mental message that Neia could not help but drag her palm over her face with exasperation.
'He's like an enthusiastic puppy, just eager for everyone to be happy, will he ever understand that life doesn't work that way…? Actually, do I even hope he does? No, no I don't.' Neia thought in an instant, and answered him.
"Fine, I'll invite Keeno and Lakyus to come and see me. If they refuse, they refuse, but for the sake of everything we endured, and what you did for Zesshi,****** I can't tell you no, at least." Neia answered him, and cut communication before he could offer thanks that she didn't really want.
The crisp cold air came on, and though it should have chilled to the bone, she didn't really feel it. The cold winter meant nothing good to her, the closing days of nightmare in the march to Kami Miyako, when only death lay behind her, and only those waiting to die were in front of her. It was her most hated time of year, and likely always would be, or so she reflected until she reached the door of her grand estate and passed through to her home.
Skana embraced her warmly, and pressed a gentle kiss to her lover's own, which Neia gratefully received, a little desire stirring within at the feel of the woman's breasts pressed to her body. The auburn hair hung down longer than it had during the war, and a single green eye blinked expectantly when the kiss broke. "Are you alright, my love?"
Neia snorted, "You know that won't ever be the case, dear. I'll only just be a little better every time. But thank you for hoping." She winked, "Do something for me," Neia said before Skana could say more, "have the servants make arrangements for four extra at dinner tonight. I want to invite Lakyus, Keeno, Tia, and Tina."
"Of course but, is there any special occasion?" Skana asked, a small worried frown crossing the face Neia loved.
"No, not really, just doing a favor for a friend of a friend." Neia answered.
"Alright, I'll see to it, why don't you go relax and maybe play with the children for a bit." Skana suggested.
"Good idea, very good idea." Neia said, but no sooner than they'd parted than she drew out a message scroll from the pouch at her side and used it.
"Not half bad. Not half good. But not half bad." Lakyus said with a pleasant little smile down at the young minotaur male. The young male snorted in the sheepish way his race tended to do when a little embarrassed at themselves and pushed up to his hooves again.
"Now we reset, and try again. Keeno, your turn. The priestess wants to see me about something and I promised her I'd stop in as soon as this session was over." She said over her shoulder and the diminutive child sized woman approached from the side.
"Of course, I've got this." Keeno said from behind her mask. Lakyus put a hand on her sister's shoulder when she passed.
"Don't go 'too' hard on the young bulls, but not too soft either." She winked, and the little magic caster nodded.
A moment later at her back there was the sound of scrambling minotaurs pounding the white ground into mush as they tried to avoid blasts of magic, and form themselves into a useful group to stand against the powerful guest instructors.
Lakyus tried hard not to laugh, 'The young of every race, strong enough to get themselves into trouble, eager to learn and at the same time that there's nothing left to.'
She entered the small temple in the capital of Menowa where the trial had once taken place, and found it empty. This wasn't a surprise, Lakyus knew just where to go, the explorer priestess was an odd one. 'I suppose centuries as a slave will do that to you.' She reluctantly acknowledged, 'One thing I won't miss about my humanity, having any tie to 'that' kind of behavior.'
She opened the door to the office, breezed past the orderly desk, went to the rear door, and opened it up to the outside.
There was only one set of footprints in the thick snow that blanketed the area, and they led to one place. A large stone sarcophagus with a top carved into the shape of a human. At the side of that tomb was the priestess herself, a slender elven woman of radiant beauty by elven or human standards alike. Not especially tall compared to some of her race, she nonetheless was tall by other standards, towering over most humans by half a head, with long blonde hair that hung loosely down her back.
Her radiant blue eyes were shimmering pools focused on the expressionless stone as if begging it to speak. "You wanted to see me, Nua?" Lakyus asked with a tentative tone.
"Yes." The elven woman said without looking at her. "I was wondering if you'd consider taking over for me as the priestess here."
Lakyus stopped cold in mid step, the crunching snow beneath her feet was abruptly cut off. "I'm sorry, could you say that again?"
Nua still didn't look at her. "I asked if you'd consider taking over for me as the head priestess here."
"Are you going somewhere?" Lakyus asked, "You built this temple, for that matter, what temple didn't you see to? It won't be long before most of the kingdom is converted, you'd really leave?"
"I'm an explorer class, I'm not meant to stay settled down forever. And you know, I was stuck in that city for far too long, I want to see more of the world. I'm just thinking ahead, you've been here for a few months now, I thought you might be taking a liking to it." Nua said without so much as a sideways glance.
"When would you leave?" Lakyus asked, and Nua finally looked away from the grave, though her hand drifted up to cover the stone carved fingers.
"Another ten years. Give or take a few weeks. Once I've finished what I came here to do." The silk voiced elf woman said.
"So why are you asking now? You're talking like you'll leave in a few weeks." Lakyus said with a furrowed look.
Nua pointed to her long elven ears. "That is a few weeks or so by my standards. Time doesn't mean the same thing to me that it does to you, except…" She tightened her hold on the stone, "I'm sorry, the more I lay my plans, well every step, it brings me closer to making this right again."
The priestess in Lakyus, the woman who had rendered comfort to a thousand wounded souls, cried out for action, and she went over to where the priestess of death stood mourning the dead. She put a hand on the bicep of the woman.
"I didn't know Raymond, I only knew 'about' him. But if he's the kind of man you've spoken of, he wouldn't want you to live your life missing him." Lakyus said, and the elf gave a winsome smile down to her.
"You're right, I'm stronger than I've ever been, and getting stronger all the time, not in the least thanks to our little sparring sessions for the converts. But at heart, I'm still pathetic, a foolish girl who fell for the worst man in the world to fall for. But still, it's my choice, and the time will come that I have to try. When it does, I want to leave my temple in good hands, I know of nobody better than another convert who already has priestly training… even if it is… a faith I have to choose not to hold against you." Nua answered, and Lakyus had the decency to look up at the open sky, the snow had ceased to fall for now, but her breath was still steaming in the air.
"I regret every day that I was ever someone who would have killed my sister and passed your people by." Lakyus couldn't meet her eyes for a moment, and it was Nua's turn to put a hand on Lakyus's shoulder.
"If it could be so for a man like Raymond, who didn't do the right thing until near the end of the war******* it could have been that way for anyone, I can't hate your people forever, even if it is difficult to let go, I'm trying, and it's easier with an individual than with a group. We and humans have that in common. But… what about my request?" Nua asked, changing back to subject as smoothly as she could.
"I'll consider it, but in ten years, who knows where I'll be? This is a whole new world being built and I want to see it all as it happens, it makes me wish I was omnipresent. It's so… exciting." Lakyus's enthusiasm shone bright as the sun, and it was hard not to share in it.
"I'm sure, and there is a lot more coming." Nua answered.
"I know, and so I can't commit to it, but may I suggest the Pope's daughter? She adopted a minotaur girl who will be of age in about ten years, I'm sure Mu'Trieu would be happy for the chance. Plus it would give them one of their own as the one to guide the faith here." Lakyus answered, and the elf cocked her head slightly.
"That's an excellent suggestion. Thank you for that." Nua answered sincerely.
Lakyus was about to say more, but before she could, the elf went back to talking to the corpse and telling him all that had happened in the last month. It was a dismissal, and Lakyus turned to leave, just before she reached the door, a message came to her.
"Lakyus, would you, Keeno, Tia, and Tina like to join me for dinner?" Lakyus heard the voice of Neia in her head, and her answer was immediate.
"The twins are out on a task hunting down some minotaur bandits hiding in the hills well east of here, it's a lot of work so they shouldn't stop. But Keeno and I are free."
"Perfect, be at the front of the temple in Menowa when you're ready, and I'll use a gate for you." Neia answered in turn. The message cut off and Lakyus mentally threw up her hands.
'Impossible magic used to get to dinner, what a world this is, I really have to give up being surprised after all this time. By the bones of god, it will be very strange to be surrounded by a generation who take this world we're making just for granted.'
It made her reflective as she left the temple and trod over the snow, it crunched underneath her feet, her breath hot in the cold air, minotaurs passed her by and paid little notice to her. The busy capital was bustling in a way that showed it was on the rise. Minotaurs in black clothing or sashes, showed their membership in the temple to the Sorcerer King, followers of the faith they said was brought to them by 'Kiril's Angel'. Nobody seemed to think anything of what was even five years ago, a rarity, a human in Menowa. Now, humans were a welcome and regular sight because they brought wealth from the west, and in particular, weapons to the followers of the faith.
'In a few hundred years, how many will be around who remember a time before His Majesty? A few dozen immortals, maybe a hundred or so. Not many, no, not many at all. My team and I. The papal couple, the guardians? Lots of elves, but even those aren't immortal. In two thousand years, even that memory will have almost completely faded. Only a few dozen of us will know the world before, how few will remain to know what it was ever like.' It was a pensive thought to consider, and she was still thinking about it hours later when she and Keeno were in front of the temple that evening.
They stepped through the gate and there was the papal estate. Easily more massive than any two royal palaces, with great wide wings stretching out from a multistory central base, it held the Baraja heirs, countless servants and administrators, a full staff of people, largely elves who volunteered themselves out of gratitude to the pope, most of them who she had personally rescued in one fight or another.
It also held the royal children, a massive library, its own private gallery, and an elite miniature center of education for the children of the servants and a handful of select families that were in some way tied to the famous house. Either the child elite of the three hundred champions, or certain nobility selected by either the Pope, her wife, or Nazarick itself.
But to the vampire and the priestess, it was one very important place. 'It's been far too long since I've been to the home of my friends.' Lakyus thought to herself when the door opened and Neia's arms spread out to welcome them.
She began to descend the steps, dressed in a vibrant sky blue and brilliant red, it was a simple cross dress that looped over her shoulders and covered her chest, before forming into a skirt that hung down past her knees. Skana was dressed in colors to match, the same, but in opposite placement, and followed after her wife.
"Lakyus, Keeno, welcome to my home." Neia said in the rich formal voice she'd become famous for, then embraced them, kissing each woman on the cheek and squeezing them with great warmth, confident that this pair, she could not accidentally injure.
It was a rare relief to be able to indulge like that, and so each embrace from the quartet was one that would have broken a common person.
Small talk followed when the Pope swept a hand toward the great double doors of her estate and led the visitors within. It went on that way down the long hall, with Lakyus and Keeno updating their friends on life in the Minotaur Kingdom.
"So Mu'Ulm and Mu'Bin have been of help then, I'm glad to hear it. The priestess sounds like a work-a-holic though. She really should relax a little." Neia casually said, causing all three women to stop and stare at her.
Neia made it two more steps before she realized they'd stopped in their tracks, she turned around and looked at them. "Did the pot just call the kettle, black?" She managed to look a little bit sheepish, a faint rose tint coming to her cheeks.
"I love you anyway." Skana replied, approached, and gently swatted the derriere of one of the most powerful women in the world.
Neia's blush deepened and she rose up a little on her heels. She rubbed the backside and made a mock glare up to her wife. "We have company, pervert… please refrain from swatting the papal rear until we're alone."
"No, no, don't mind us. We'll just be looking off somewhere else for a moment…" Keeno taunted them and both she and Lakyus made a great show of looking away, leaving a scandalized Neia to endure a second swat before the lot of them broke down laughing.
"Alright, alright, enough of that, come, the food isn't getting warmer right now, just my butt." Neia made the riballed humor and they resumed the trip down the lengthy polished hall, passing by several servants in black and white outfits, but of chief interest to the adamantite adventurers was the increasingly powerful scent of food.
Thick steaks and seasoned vegetables, the smell of cooked boar face and fresh baked bread wafted down the hall and without thinking about it, Lakyus began to pick up the pace.
Seeing the light of hunger in her friend's eyes, Neia glanced over to Keeno, you're welcome to regular human food, or, if you like, there's a rotating dining schedule for vampire visitors. Some have a sweeter diet, and some are a bit more robust, we've even experimented with getting someone drunk so that you can enjoy the alcohol in their blood… or we can just serve some to you in a glass. As you're the guest, well, if you want even mine, my arm is yours… but I'm afraid my neck belongs to my wife."
Keeno fought back tears, even with the widespread growth of the new religion, such casual acceptance of vampires was not widespread. Military veterans who fought beside heteromorphs and nonhumans were the most accepting, but this was so off the cuff and casual that it was hard not to feel choked up about it.
"Th-Thank you. Thank you very, very much." Keeno replied, her fangs on display with her open happiness and bright, blood red eyes shimmering in their unblinking state.
"Nothing but the best for some of those who have done the most for me." Neia approached and put hands on both their shoulders, "I might not even be alive right now if not for your actions, if I hadn't survived that day, I wouldn't have Gottfried, or Zyanya, or Mu'Trieu. There isn't much I wouldn't do for you all. You left Kedyn******** to help me out on one of the darkest days of my life, how could I not offer you everything in my power to offer, even the very blood in my veins is nothing on the scale of my gratitude."
Such an outpouring was rare from the Pope, and left them in almost stunned silence the rest of the way to the dinner table.
In the corner an elven male dressed in forest green and black played a violin, sending quiet music into the expansive dining room. The polished table was large enough to seat many guests, though the table had only the three children, the papal couple, and their pair of guests.
Servants came and went, pouring wine into cups of pure silver, the sloshing sound of wine accompanying the music and conversation. Neia with her grandiose dramatic gestures spoke of wild stories from her youth wandering the forests, Skana retold the story of the moment she fell in love with her wife, and gradually the topics went from wild and humorous, to slowly more serious.
"Keeno, I've had a fair bit of wine now, so if you're hungry, or thirsty, help yourself." Neia said offhandedly and rolled up her arm, she stuck out her arm.
"Are you sure?" Keeno asked with trepidation, feeling somehow smaller against the weight of uncertainty.
"A long time ago… or rather, it feels like a long time ago, I said, 'Who sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother, my sister, my family.' I know I'm prone to dramatic gestures and speeches, but I've never said something I didn't mean. Please, be my guest." Neia said and squeezed her fist several times, drawing a vein to the surface.
With such an endorsement laid out so blatantly, Keeno respectfully took the offered arm and brought it up to her lips. 'If I detect any tension, I'll change my mind.' She resolved, and touched her teeth gently to the surface at the vein. It was completely relaxed, almost as if the arm belonged to someone sleeping.
Her heart could not beat, but that didn't stop it from leaping contentedly when her fangs sank into the skin and the savory blood began to pump.
Neia didn't even wince, though what she did was almost enough to make Keeno cough up what she'd just consumed.
The pope spoke. Her head resting on her other hand with casual ease while the children chattered among themselves, ignoring the adults, she said, "Listen, I think I'd like to see Gagaran, and I thought I should talk to you first."
"Gagaran…? Are you, are you serious?" Lakyus stammered at the unexpected statement.
"Are you really alright with that?" Keeno finished her meal rather quicker than she planned, the blood of the pope was rich and filled with the flavor one would expect given her fine dining opportunities, but the sudden announcement fairly demanded her attention. "That was delicious, thank you." She said as she licked her lips and released the arm.
Neia inclined her head politely to the vampire girl and drew her sleeve back down. "You're welcome, and yes. We are all on the same side and… alright she did come to arrest me, but the truth of the matter is she did it out of love for those closest to her. Let's be honest, I did a lot worse out of hatred and anger. Besides, if she hadn't, someone else would have, and things worked out for the best. I ended up getting a daughter out of it." She gestured to the young minotaur girl who perked up and looked in their direction, she waved happily and then went back to chattering with her siblings.
Whatever they were talking about made them more than a little animated, and the trio left the table to begin wrestling on the floor. Zyanya's elven heritage showed itself by way of her surprisingly quick, fluid movements, while Mu'Trieu tried to bull her way through them both, but the black haired Gottfried was showing both halves of his line as they tumbled and scrapped. 'It won't be long before their younger brother completely outpowers them both, I wonder how much of that is me, and how much of that is from his father. That's what you get choosing a godkin as a body father I suppose.' Neia briefly mused before she returned to the subject at hand.
"My life is a good one." She put her hands together in front of her face and rested her elbows on the table. "Gagaran is a comrade, and I did hurt her, however unintentionally. What happened before was my fault, I have to take responsibility for that. I'd like for all four of you to go with me, there's a gathering in E-Rantel for the great heroes, it's coming up on New Years, and I am certain she will attend. Things need to be made right, we didn't fight for a new world, just to destroy everything of value in the old one."
Lakyus and Keeno both pursed their lips before the golden haired priestess spoke, "Do you think she'll even talk to any of us? We've barely spoken in the last year or two. That divide really stung, it's like… "
"Like I wasn't worth it." Keeno finished, "All that time being just a monster to be exterminated, hiding myself from my sisters, it all gets overturned with the new religion, and she went after the one who made it possible. That cut, it cut deeply." Keeno clenched her tiny fists, "Couldn't she have just let it all go? Everything was on path again, digging that up, giving a platform for the Theocracy lackeys to voice their grievances, she didn't do all that, but she did help set it in motion. If she'd just left you alone, it could have been someone nameless, some nobody, it didn't have to be her. It's like she was sending a message."
"I don't know the answer to any of that." Neia responded with a glance to her wife, she took her hand and extended it out, Skana took it gingerly and squeezed, a few feet away, Mu'Trieu was standing in triumph over her siblings, pumping her fists until Zyanya grabbed her leg and pushed, toppling the young minotaur over and starting the brawl all over again.
"What I do know, is that it has been long enough. I can't undo the past, but I can write the future, and whether Gagaran was right or wrong, she's alive, she did the best she knew, and I don't want to go to my grave with a grudge like that still lingering." Neia's voice was decisive, and it froze the blood of her friends.
"Grave? Aren't you going to have yourself made immortal?" Lakyus inquired.
"I could easily make you a vampire right now, I'm sure you'd make a good one." Keeno offered, only for Neia to laugh.
"No, no I don't plan on forever. I want to change the world into something completely new, and when I'm done, it won't need people like me, besides, I've done too much to for too many. I'll live and die in a human lifetime, so will my wife. I won't be trying to rush to the grave, but the champion of justice and the god of death, shouldn't fear the judgement of time. You two have centuries to make up with her, but me? No, I don't. So, will you go with me?" Neia gave every word the gravity it was due, and the heroic pair traded a long, lingering look.
"Does your father know?" Lakyus asked with a tender voice, "I'm sure he is expecting you to be with him for centuries to come."
"I haven't told him, and I'd ask that you not tell him either, he'll understand. I'll tell him when the time comes, and I'll know when that is. I believe he'll understand, and I don't believe he'll order me to linger. Now… can I have your answer?" Neia asked in a more stately tone.
"Yes… yes we'll go. If Tia and Tina aren't still overwhelmed with their 'hunt' in the east of the Minotaur Kingdom, I think I can answer for them as well and say yes in their stead." Lakyus replied with a calm voice while she looked at the young pope and tried to imagine her old, gray, and gone… and found she could not.
"And you, Keeno?" Neia asked, hopeful.
"Yes, though I have no idea how she'll respond to seeing us. Our last words at the trial were harsh ones, and since then it's been nothing but, a quick message announcing our continued lives. Half the reason we took that job in the Minotaur Kingdom was for the sake of some distance. But yes, I'll go too."
Neia reached over and took up a small bell, "Good, thank you both, that will make it much easier on me, and I am grateful. Now, Skana my love, please wrangle the children and let's have dessert."
The trio watched with amusement as the auburn haired fencer, with a broad smile filling her face, tackled the three wrestling children and began to wrangle them back to their seats, pretending to struggle far more than she actually did, until they were seated, and Neia rang the bell, prompting complete stillness well before the cart of hot sweets was wheeled in.
Relief swept over Climb when the Pope sent him word that at least two of the four were a sure thing. "Thank you." Was all he said.
Neia wasn't disturbed by the lack of profuse thanks, she answered in kind, "You're welcome." Then cut contact. He said little, but what he said, he meant more than most people.
Climb went straight to work, caterers were called, invitations dispatched on dragonback to countless famous names from Hoburns to Arwintar. It was on his last evening hunched over a desk putting a seal to it when his wife approached and put a hand to his shoulder.
Her eyes shone with angelic light, "My Climb, my bed is getting cold, I need you to warm it up." Her massive white wings spread out behind her, and flapped in a way that warned him of her impatience.
"Not to worry, it'll just be a bit." He said, and she leaned over to look at what had his attention, a thin frown formed on her face.
"Why are you worried about mere 'invitations' we can have servants do that if you like. You're my consort, I should be the only one to occupy your attention." Renner said, turning her obsessive eyes to the back of his skull.
"It's like I told you the first night we were together, I never want you to go. I want you to stay."********
"I know. But this is for an old friend, I probably would have died you know, if I hadn't had their instruction. Because of them, I lived to be your husband, that's worth a few hours of my time, our time, isn't it?" He asked without looking over his shoulder.
"Just be quick about it, you know I hate waiting." Renner replied, "I waited long enough to have you." She whispered, her powerful hand squeezed a little tighter than needed, prompting a wince and a smile both at once to form on her handsome husband's face.
"I know, I promise I won't be long, some things I'm just meant to do, and this is the sort of thing that makes me who I am." Climb set the seal down and reached across his body to put his hand over her own.
Covetous white eyes lingered on him for a moment, and then she let go, retreating to their bedroom while he worked.
When he was done and the last envelope sealed and ready for dispatch, he went back to find his wife waiting for him, just as she promised, awake and pouting. "You kept me waiting, how will you make it up to me?" She asked, and he spent the rest of the night demonstrating his intention to make her wait worthwhile, even if it did crack a few of his ribs along the way.
Gagaran was drinking hard again, the snows of E-Rantel kept most people indoors, good cheer at another good year coming to the close was the order of the day, crackling fire, the smell of roasting meat and vegetables, the shouts of servers and clamor of patrons snatching up hot fresh bread and broad wooden mugs of beer were beyond plentiful.
But for the giant of a woman, it was being on the outside looking in. A group of rough looking workers, stone workers from the look of it, had their arms over each other's shoulders and were swaying back and forth to a tune being played on a stringed instrument while a bawdy drinking song belted past their lips.
Her eyes wrenched away from the scene, the memory of her time outside, under the black sky and bright stars, the roar of the fire and the laughter and happiness of her companions… 'For all the danger, for all the horror… even the damn war that dragged us into the worst times of our lives, I'd do it all again if I could just do it with them.' A shutter banged outside when the cold wind picked up, like it was trying to make its way into the tavern to join the festivities, and yet, it could not. Gagaran's heart beat less than the lifeless wind, and found she had more in common with it than with the people in the warm and cozy tavern.
She reached into the pouch inside her black cloak and took out a few coppers, they fell from her fingers with a clatter to the table, paying for her beer, then she stood up and headed for the exit. She ducked her head when she opened the door and stepped under the frame and outside.
The crunch of snow was beneath her feet and the bitter cold wind of the major city struck her full in the face. It was nothing to someone who had endured much worse, and so it didn't even make her blink, let alone raise her arm to protect herself. No sooner than she stepped around the corner to make her way back to her temporary residence however, than she bumped into a welcome figure.
Climb landed solidly on his ass, sprawled out in the snow as soon as the giantess bumped into him, his head hitting her briefly full in her chest, from all five points of contact, he glanced up to see who he'd hit. Even with her face mostly concealed by the hood, and in the dark as it was, he couldn't mistake the broad woman for anyone else.
But even if he had, when her massive hand came out slowly and she leaned over to help him up, her voice gave her away. "If you wanted to cop a feel that badly, you should have asked before you married."
Climb stared dumbly up at her for a moment while he processed the joke and the snow soaked into his clothing and chilled his skin, and he let out a sharp laugh before holding a hand out to take the one she'd extended to him.
She hauled him to his feet, "Very funny, very, very funny." He said when he was yanked up to his feet. He rubbed his ass for a moment, "That snow isn't much of a cushion, damn."
"Yeah, well these are." Gagaran patted her chest and winked with a lewd grin at the young man.
"I know, I just felt them, however unintended, and I'll thank you not to mention that to my wife." Climb replied when he straightened up. They shared in welcome laughter until he looked up at the woman who had helped to keep him alive when he was younger and more naive. "Listen, I was hoping to run into you. Are you doing anything for the new year?"
Gagaran jabbed her thumb over her shoulder toward the tavern. "Just that."
"If you're going to drink anyway, why not come with me? It's the new year, lots of things happen then that don't happen at any other time. Nobody should be alone on a day like that." Those parts of his cheeks not covered by golden beard were flushed red from the cold, and in his eyes a twinkle like he had something else to say that he was keeping back.
Gagaran shifted uncomfortably on her feet and cocked her head down at the boy she knew and contemplated the kind of man he'd become. 'Of all the damn foolish men in this world, if there was ever one I could trust, it's this one. Whatever it is he has in mind, there's nothing to worry about.' She finally concluded, and nodded down to him.
"Alright, I'll do it. I'm staying at the inn just around the corner from here. Come find me when you're ready." She said and chuckled, "If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were dead set on stepping out on your wife."
Climb's red flush deepened, "Never, not with anyone, not ever. But thank you for the ten thousandth offer." He stepped closer, craning his neck to look up at her and clapped her firmly on the shoulder, "There are no comrades like you in all the world, that much I'm sure of. I've seen enough of the world now to say that with confidence. Believe me, nobody has forgotten that. See you soon, Gagaran." He remarked and left her watching his back until he vanished in the concealment of a sudden flurry of snow that hid everything that was more than forty paces away.
The cold had nothing to do with why she held the cloak closer all the way back to her room.
"Why are you really doing this?" Skana asked her wife as the last day of the year came on. Her hands were on her hips and she was leaning over the desk, her shining auburn hair catching the morning light through the window, her single green eye staring deeply into the sky blue of the woman she loved.
"Because I should." Neia answered when she placed another stamp on another document and set it aside. She looked up to her wife and answered the silence that followed those three words with a long quiet stare.
"You know you'll have to do better than that. She could have gotten you killed, while I was pregnant no less. How do you let go of that?!" Skana's hands were fists and a shimmering formed over her good eye that spoke of the horror of the distant memory that lingered still in her mind, and it was enough for Neia to stand up and go to hold her.
Slender arms enfolded the woman closely, and Neia looked up to her. "My precious love, I know how you feel, but it wasn't her, it was just me having to finally face up to my own actions, if I'd died as a result, I'd have brought it on myself. You can't hold a grudge against her for things I did. Besides, it was because of all that, that we are how we are now. She never relished it, I traveled with her a good long way overland to the Minotaur Kingdom, I understand her more than you did. She did, as she knew it to be, the right thing. You know I didn't. Not always, that's why you lied to me before the walls of Wheaton, why you kept back the knowledge of the Breaker Academy, isn't it?"
Skana hung her head and kissed the forehead of her wife. "Yes."
"I can't make everything right, but, this isn't 'just' for Gagaran. This is for Keeno and for Lakyus, and maybe Tia and Tina… though what those two are thinking, who knows?" She shrugged, "The rose won't bloom until the wounds are mended, and I know it hurts those two to feel at odds with their sister. Besides, I'm not doing much, just going. That's all."
"You say 'that's all' as if it's no big deal. Like another day will just come about but… you know better. You're using next year's day out, immediately. You only have one day free on parole, and you're using it at the start…" Skana squeezed her wife all the tighter, "It's all you get and you're throwing it away to make things right for-"
"For comrades. One day or all of them, that's how it was in the midst of all that horror, and that's how it will be till the day I die. That's what it means to have comrades, and despite the rift, they're still comrades, Enri, Gagaran, all of them." Neia answered in a soft but resolute voice, but she savored the tightened embrace.
"Besides, as prisoners go, I'm lucky, I get conjugal visits every night and a luxuriant captivity." She laughed and against her will, the sudden ribald joke made Skana's breasts heave with vigorous unexpected laughter of her own.
"Fine, fine, you win." Skana answered, "But no more work for the rest of the day, since you're leaving tonight, the daylight belongs to us."
"Now who wins?" Neia asked and pinched the shapely butt of her wife.
"We do." Skana winked and turned her head toward the office door, "Alright littles, come in, your other mother isn't going to work for the rest of the day, playtime!"
"I should have seen that coming." Neia mused aloud as they ran in as only small children did.
Night came on faster than Lakyus expected, and before she knew it she, Keeno, Tia, and Tina were standing outside a massive stone building, a reserved hall meant for the grandest of celebrations.
It had great cream colored marble columns and a high arch leading to a pair of large double doors of thick dark wood that could easily let fifteen men pass abreast, while also having a single smaller door built into one to allow a single entrant.
Most days it stood empty, but this night it held double guards in full plate armor with formal green sashes symbolizing spring, and heavy halberds with short swords on their belts. A symbolic measure in principle, but prepared nonetheless. They were taking the invitations of heroes from War for the New World, and admitting them in pairs.
However the incomplete team of Blue Rose stood across the street, cloaked as they were against the falling snow and winter chill, they went unrecognized for the time being. "Do you remember what was said the day we crossed into the Holy Kingdom?" Keeno asked with a gentle voice from beside her sister.
"Yes, Gagaran, she said, "Are we really doing this?" and now here we are, and we're all asking the same question." Lakyus replied, "Will she even want to talk to us? The last time we spoke… I just… I want things to be the same again. What if she resents us?"
"What if she's afraid of the same thing you are?" Neia asked from behind her when she passed through the gate.
It was a strange thought to have, but before it could be answered, the pope pointed to the entrance. "Let's go, it isn't getting any warmer out here, and I hate winter."
"Predictable." Lakyus muttered when the Pope ventured across the street and ascended the steps, no invitation was needed, no sooner than she was recognized than the guards snapped a salute and let her pass within.
An orange glow from the many candles cast it's light into the dark beyond and illuminated the snowy steps up which the members of Blue Rose strode, they too, passed without needing to show invitations, entering into the great open expanse. A long table spanning most of the room's length was spread out with food and wine, in the corner, musicians played music to dance by, and even from behind her, they could see the change come over the prisoner pope.
A skip to her step at the rare outing enhanced by the music, she went straight for the wine and scanned the view until she found the face she wanted. "Cenna Tachoni as I live and breathe." Neia said, the pair bowed to one another. The black haired captain grinned down at the pope.
"Good to see you, how is our son?" The former black scripture asked with a boyish grin.
"Taking after his father so far, in short, he's a real handful, starting to manifest your strength already, by the time he turns eight, his sisters won't be able to handle him." Neia answered with a note of pride in her upturned look.
"A chip off the old block, I'm glad to hear it, speaking of, have you picked a body father for your next child?" He winked at her with playful intent and handed a goblet to the pope.
"Standing in front of me if he's willing, god knows I don't want to have the same conversation we first had, a second time with someone else… but please refrain from lewding the pope until later, first… we dance." She drank from her cup, as he from his, and they set them aside before joining hands and stepping onto the dance floor as one.
Gagaran followed Climb with a dubious expression on her face, "What are you planning, I don't know of any taverns this way, are you taking me to where you're staying?"
Her lips were pursed tight and suspicion colored her voice, but his sing song voice was cryptic and engaging.
"No, it's different, just trust me." Climb replied, and Gagaran forced herself to relax as they tramped through the thick calf high blanket of snow on the ground.
"There aren't many outside of Blue Rose I'd trust, but I suppose you're one of them." Gagaran's voice held a note of hurt, and she was forced to ask herself, 'Do they trust me? Are we still 'Blue Rose' at all?'
Uncomfortable questions that left her heart pounding in spite of the company she kept, all the way to the large hall. "What's this?" Gagaran inquired, stopping in her tracks.
"A gathering of heroes, if you can't just be with Blue Rose again, then you should be with others who have as much to celebrate as you, so… I put this together." Climb waved to where people went through the large double doors. "It wasn't easy, but it was worth it, come on, drink, sing, count down the moments till the New Year begins, find some mistletoe, and I'll even see that there's a kiss involved."
Gagaran, ever the vibrant soul despite it all, thought it over for a moment, the warmth within was obvious by the way the entrance lit up, and some of the shapes wandering inside looked familiar. Faces she hadn't seen in years. "Fine, you put all this together so I wouldn't be alone? You're something else. I don't know what, but something else." She begrudgingly admitted, and followed him to the entrance and into the welcoming hall of heroes.
So large was the room, and so large was Gagaran, that her entry was quickly noted, and warm faces approached to bid her welcome with cups of wine and handshakes and greetings.
For the next three hours, it was as if everything was forgotten but the pleasure of seeing old faces and swapping war stories of the more bawdy and happier variety, or stories of post war life.
"...So then I got home and the next thing I know I've got three kids and I'm missing the screaming voice of that blasted half-elf…"
"...So my vineyards are growing well and all, but damned if I don't miss the beer we got from the dwarves, just can't get the good stuff out west…"
So it went with handshakes and laughter as hour went into hour, such that she did not notice when Climb went to quietly speak with Neia.
"It's been hours and they haven't approached her, and neither have you, they can't not know she's here, what's going on?" Climb whispered, and Neia topped off his cup with a bottle from the long table, then her own, and responded.
"Everything is fine, they know she's here." Neia pointed to the distant corner, "She hasn't seen them, but they know she's here, half of anything is doing things at the right time."
Climb thought that over, "So what's next?"
"Next, I go up to her, just wait a minute or two more, let her get a few more greetings out of the way. Remember it was me she arrested, I don't think Lakyus or the others ever really believed I was OK with that. If I take the first step…" Neia said, and when the next person moved away from Gagaran, she added, "Now."
Her cup of wine was set aside and she approached the giant of a woman who towered over all but a very large war troll. "Gagaran, it's been awhile." Neia said and looked up at her, "You're taller than I remember."
"And you're shorter." Gagaran said, but it was clipped, without humor.
Neia rubbed the back of her head, "People always say that, what do they expect me to look like, a twenty foot giant that shoots fire from my eyes and bolts of lightning from my ass?"
Gagaran choked on her wine at the sudden unexpected humor and barely covered her mouth in time as she chortled against her will. Neia grinned broadly, "Relax, listen… I know things happened, why you did what you did, but I meant it then and I mean it now. You kept your justice, that's strength too, especially when everyone else doubts you. Besides, I got my daughter, my life as it is, in part because of you. Enough guilt, this is the end of a year, it's my only day out, and if that's how it is, then I'd like to kick off the old and ring in the new by burying any lingering grudge."
Gagaran frowned down at her, "What do you mean?"
"I mean…" Neia stopped rubbing her head and slapped her own face sharply, "Damn it! Can I ever say anything without making a speech out of it?!"
Gagaran cocked her head.
"I mean I'm sorry!" Neia exclaimed, "I'm sorry you got caught up in my mess, that I forced your hand, I'm sorry for any nightmares or lingering effects, I never wanted that, least of all for some of the few genuinely good people in this world. From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry for what I did, not just to the city, not just to everyone, but to you too. I don't have a right to forgiveness. But that doesn't mean I don't owe you an apology anyway. I've learned that over the last few years… that just because you can't make it right, that doesn't mean you can't apologize. So… again…"
She hung her head and closed her eyes. "Gagaran, I am very, very sorry for all that you endured because of me, during and after the war."
"Damn. I'll be a real bitch if I don't accept that, won't I…" The giant of a woman muttered, then said, "Thank you. Thank you for that. And for what it's worth, I never enjoyed a single moment of what happened to you."
"Thank you, though I wouldn't blame you if you had, but now that we've got that out of the way…" Neia pointed to where four longed for faces stood.
"Lakyus… Tia, Tina, Shorty…" Gagaran repeated the names like they were a sacred incantation, and seeing that they were spotted, and that the cause of the schism had approached the woman first, they came on.
Somewhere outside, a great boom went off, a mage sending up the first note that the last hour of the year had begun.
"Gagaran…" The four said at once.
"Everyone…" Gagaran's eyes welled up. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Neither did we." Lakyus glanced to Neia who had moved discreetly to one side.
Neia smirked, "Don't look at me, it was Climb's idea." She pointed to the golden bearded man who approached from opposite where they stood.
"It's true." He admitted, "You're all the reason I survived to grow up, as much as my wife, I've spoken with you all over time, I could see that everything that happened, it hurt you all and… this is the year's end. I wanted to make things right… you're family, comrades, maybe it was none of my business…" He bowed deeply, "But who can do nothing when they see the people they care about, in pain?"
Long awkward silence passed between the broken roses.
"Remember the last days of the war? We were all marching through the frozen wastelands? The armies had all come under my command, and Kami Miyako was in sight, remember what we all felt that day?" Neia asked.
"Happy." They said together.
"Yes, the war was finally coming to an end, or so we thought, but we were wrong, I was wrong. I had more to go, but my battles with the world are over. I still struggle, sometimes, fighting myself. But your fight didn't end either… maybe nobody was wrong when my trial happened. And if nobody was wrong…" Neia said, and Keeno was the first to speak.
"The old gods called me a monster to be put down, it felt like… like you were siding with them." Keeno said, staring at Gagaran.
"Never." Gagaran said with sharp denial. "I'd fight the gods to keep you safe, you're my Shorty, my… Keeno, my sister. I didnt' ever want to hurt any of you… I just, and after all that, I didn't think you'd want to see me. A few months became a year, and all we traded were a few words to say we're alive… then I was afraid to say anything.
"Me too… after that last argument in the tavern when Skana was pregnant, I walked away from you to help her, but I never meant to walk away from you for good…" Lakyus replied, her blue eyes welling up with tears.
"Like evil boss said." Tia agreed.
"Like shorty said." Tina added.
Somewhere outside, the booms began in earnest.
Time was counting down.
Neia quickly traded a glance with Climb, who read her eyes and they stepped into position while the people shouted the count with each burst outside.
"Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three…"
"Two…"
"One!"
"Oops!" Climb and Neia said at once, each exaggeratedly falling into Lakyus, Keeno, and Gagaran, and pressing hands as hard as they could into strong backs, they shoved the trio forward across the paces between them so that they fell into an embrace.
"I tripped!" They shouted as the trio embraced, quickly followed by the twins who pretended to do the impossible, and 'trip' as well into the great bear hug that Gagaran's arms had begun.
"Happy New Year!" The shout echoed and voices roared around the great hall.
"Yes, I think it will be." Neia replied when she straightened up again, and tugged on her dress a bit to straighten out the wrinkle, "A good use for my only day of freedom."
"I think so too, and Neia, thank you." Climb agreed and they clasped hands proudly, and from somewhere came a well loved song…
"Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For days of auld lang syne
We twa hae run about the braes
And pu'd the gowans fine
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit
Sin days of auld lang syne
We twa hae paidl'd i' the burn
Frae morning sun till dine
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin days of auld lang syne
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For days of auld lang syne
And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp
And surely I'll be mine
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne"
Before the song had ended, the wounded rose had healed and begun to bloom again, through song and cheer and stories, lines crossed before had been crossed again for them not to fight over, but to embrace across. The year rang in the way none expected, but each had privately hoped for, drunk, happy, safe and free, and with the family they loved best in all the world.
And to all of them, that was the point.
*The Trial: Journey's End
**The Lemurian Paradox
***Life Happens
****The Synod
*****God Rising: The Cult of Ainz
******Enemy Mine
*******Blood in the Streets
********Unholy Rose
*********Angel Bound