Chapter 10. Enter, Wings of Justice.
Rünira stared in open wonder at what was, without a shadow of a doubt, the most gigantic structure she had ever laid eyes upon.
The tower of Babel, an impossibly long tower piercing the skies in a glorious attempt to reach into the very heavens, built by the gods themselves over the entrance of The Dungeon as a lid to contain the spewing hordes of monsters.
It was absolutely breathtaking.
"We made it…" she said half to herself, flaming hair billowing in the wind as the clouds soared past her, the gryphon under her, flapping his powerful wings, swiftly moving westward through the skies in the direction of the enormous city that surrounded the colossal tower.
Orario.
The Labyrinth City, city of adventurers, the centre of the world. A place that held infinite potential between its enormous circular walls, a place where all peoples and races converged, looking to make a name for themselves, gain riches and fame, a place where she could finally find the power to reclaim her home.
She had finally made it.
The flight had been long, but it appeared that Griffy could fly faster than anyone had expected, as the sun was still high in the sky when Rünira had first caught a glimpse of the high tower, its prominent brightness promising a couple more hours of daylight.
"We should probably land here Griffy!" Rünira told the gryphon, raising her voice to be heard above the roaring winds as they began to grow closer to the city. "We don't want to scare anyone!"
She got an indignant chirp in response, the gryphon clicking its beaks in an obvious show of annoyance, A big yellow eye giving her an almost offended look.
"I know you're not scary ya big chicken!" Rünira said, trying not to roll her eyes, talking like she would to a little child —if you talked to children while soaring through the skies at high altitudes that is. "But people here kill monsters for a living! I just don't wanna make a scene!"
The gryphon didn't look happy, but it began to descend nonetheless, safely reaching the ground a couple of minutes later, landing nearby the main road on a little secluded space protected by some trees.
"Good boy!" she said after dismounting, stroking the beast's plumage with one hand, while the other untied her bag from the saddle. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"
The gryphon swatted her in the head with its wing, making Rünira laugh as she opened her bag to make sure that everything was still there after the rocky flight.
Throwing the bag over her shoulder after she finished, her new shield followed suit with the hatchet hooked on its inner side between the straps for her arms. Lastly, she strapped the Aflhraûn firmly on her belt, close and ready to be wielded if the need arose.
Satisfied that everything was in place she turned towards Griffy. "Thanks for the ride buddy," she told the gryphon, giving him a last pat on the head. "I promise I'll leave the city occasionally so you can come to visit, ok?"
Griffy pecked her head gently in response, making a mess of the already messy braid Lauriel had so painstakingly made, before taking off with a powerful flap of its wings, leaving her alone inside the thicket. She put the hood of her travelling cloak over her head, not wanting the risk of anyone recognizing her, regardless of how unlikely it could be. Maybe she was being too paranoid, but Rünira didn't feel ready just yet for the world to know about her survival.
Hiking back towards the road, she took a moment to appreciate the wide and well-maintained gravel pathway before starting to make her way towards the city, shining green eyes never leaving the enormous tower on the horizon as she walked, the minutes spent travelling to the entrance of Orario spent daydreaming about all the wonders she would get to witness once she entered the legendary city.
"State your name and purpose of your visit," came the bored sounding voice, snapping Rünira out of her musings.
She didn't know what she should have expected when approaching the city gates, but some dodgy-looking human wearing a ridiculous orange mask covering half his face certainly wasn't high on her list of possibilities. Are all humans this weird?
"You! I said name and purpose of your visit!" the guard repeated looking annoyed at her lack of response. Or maybe it was because of the thoroughly befuddled look she was giving him. "Answer before I kick you to the back of the line!"
Rünira looked behind her, noticing that unlike the other lines for the returning people, she was the only one waiting on the spot marked for new arrivals, making the threat feel quite empty. But she figured it would be better not to mention that fact to the grumpy looking human.
"My name is Rünira…" she answered, not quite managing to contain her incredulity. Seriously, a bright orange mask…"Are…Are you supposed to be a guard or something?"
"Of course I'm a guard you brat! Are you blind?" the man said, pointing at his mask with his thumb and puffing up his chest. "I'm a member of Ganesha Familia!"
"Never heard of them," Rünira said with a deadpan shrug. "It's my first time in Orario…"
"Hmph, must be if you really haven't heard of the mighty Ganesha Familia," the guard said, scratching his chin, leaning forward, seemingly trying to see under her hood. "So, 'Rünira', if that is even your real name, you still haven't told me what business you have in our great city."
Rünira sighed slightly, already not liking the man's attitude. "I came to join a familia and become an adventurer," she said simply, not seeing any reason to go into detail.
"Yeah, a likely story…" the man grunted, looking at her suspiciously. "You wouldn't mind showing some proof that you aren't in a familia already then eh? Can't have troublemakers walking into my city now, can I?"
"Proof?" she repeated, tilting her head, giving the guard a peek of her deep green eyes. "And how would I do that exactly?"
"Easy," the guard said, an obvious lecherous smile noticeable on his masked face. "You need to strip!"
Rünira stared at him with a blank look on her face for a moment, until the man's words finally registered on her brain. "WHAT?!" she cried, face reddening with both embarrassment and fury. "I'll not do such a thing ya creep!"
"I need to check you for falna, so strip and turn around!" He ordered, starting to raise a grubby hand towards her.
Rünira began reaching for her hammer, ready to make the degenerate bastard swallow his teeth when a firm and commanding voice made them both freeze in place.
"What's going on here!"
Rünira turned her head to see an imposing-looking woman walking towards them with a firm step. Short azure hair and deep blue eyes, and wearing a blue and gold battle dress accentuated with parts of metallic armour. The serious expression on her face as she inspected the situation showed that this woman had zero tolerance for nonsense.
"This pervert here just told me to get naked," she replied quickly, releasing the handle of her weapon, not wanting to be seen as the offending party.
"C-Captain Varma!, it was just protocol n-nothing more," the man stammered with his head low, looking very sweaty all of a sudden. "I-I needed to make sure she wasn't lying about not having falna…"
"And you coincidentally choose to forget that visual verification of falna has been discarded long ago for being fallible," the woman, Varma, responded, a small twitch in her brow as her eyes bored a hole on the guard's bowed head. "You are released from your duties until further notice. Go back to the familia home, I'll deal with you later."
"Y-Yes Captain!"
The man practically ran away, leaving a trail of dust behind him as he made his way into the city through the enormous gates. It seemed that this woman was indeed not one to be messed around with.
The woman just sighed tiredly before looking at her. "In the name of Ganesha Familia I'd like to apologise for his actions," Varma said, making Rünira turn her attention back to her. "We've been through some hard times lately and it's gotten increasingly difficult to find decent recruits."
Rünira shook her head dismissing the apology. "It's ok, he just caught me off guard, it's not every day that someone orders you to get naked…" she said with a smile, extending her hand to the woman. "I'm Rünira by the way, nice to meet you."
The woman shook her hand firmly. "Shakti Varma, Captain of the Ganesha Familia. It's a pleasure, Rünira." Shakti said, offering back a tired but sincere smile. "As I mentioned, Orario has been through some dangerous times as of late, and we have had to tighten security around new people wanting to enter the city."
"I understand," Rünira said nodding, her voice taking on a humorous tone to ease the tension. "Is there any way to prove my claims that wouldn't involve me getting naked?"
Shakti didn't seem to find her joke particularly funny but answered nonetheless. "Visual verification only requires access to someone's back, no nudity involved," she clarified. "But as I said before, that method is flawed, as gods can hide the status of their familia members, making it invisible to the naked eye."
"Status?" Rünira repeated curiously, her lessons with Larfal had taught her some about the gods and their blessing, but there was still much she didn't know. "Is that related to the falna?"
"I see you really are new…" Shakti said, smiling slightly. "Falna is the name given to the gods' blessings. A status, on the other hand, is the visual manifestation of the Falna and appears as a tattoo on our backs. If it hasn't been hidden by our patron deity, that is."
"Then how do people get into the city?" Rünira asked, looking towards the number of people in the other line, fearing she had come all this way just to be denied entry. "There has to be a way right?"
Shakti nodded at her question. "Normally they enter along with already accepted parties, like diplomatic delegations from neighbouring countries, merchant caravans or just adventurers returning from guild-issued quests. All of them have ways to verify their identities," she explained. "As you may have noticed, it is quite rare for new people to arrive alone, there aren't many that would wish to move to Orario these days… though we are working to change that, soon this level of scrutiny will not be necessary any more."
"What am I supposed to do then?" Rünira asked, trying to keep the trepidation from her voice, wondering if her letter from Larfal would make her a 'diplomatic delegation'. Yeah right…
Shakti held up her hand in a placating gesture. "Don't worry, there are other ways to verify," she said, probably sensing her concern. "A Goddess of a well-known familia volunteered for the afternoon shift, in fact, she and some of her members should be arriving any—"
"Shakti we're here! Our purity and beauty ready to purge the evil wanting to enter Orario!"
"—time now." Shakti finished with a sigh, turning in the direction of the loud and exuberant voice.
Rünira looked past Shakti to see a small but diverse group of people approaching them. Four women, all young and beautiful, but looking completely different from one another.
Leading the way was the one who had shouted, a human with crimson-red hair tied in a ponytail, bright green eyes and a far too cheerful face. She was wearing black shorts and a red and white shirt, topped with a breastplate and small pauldrons, as well as a long and thin sword hooked to her hip.
Next to her came another human —far eastern, judging from her features and the maroon kimono she was wearing— long black hair and eyes matching the colour of her clothes. She looked like the perfect image of a lady, but Rünira knew that the people from The Far East were known for their prodigious skill with the sword, and if the curved blade on her hip was any indication, she wasn't an exception.
Slightly behind, came the shortest member of the group, short pink hair and eyes of the same colour, wearing a simple white top and a brown skirt. The pallum had a sly smile on her face, like laughing at something only she knew.
The last one, however…
"E-Elara?" Rünira's voice came out before she could stop herself as she lay eyes on the last member of the group, feeling like she had come face to face with a ghost.
Familiar blue eyes stared at her curiously, the blonde elf giving her an inquisitive look, apparently having heard Rünira calling her by the wrong name "I apologise, but you must have mistaken me," the elf said with a soft but serious tone. "My name is Ryuu Lion."
"I-I'm sorry," Rünira said, snapping out of her daze, cursing herself for her careless slip. The elf did resemble Elara, their features hauntingly similar, but the girl in front of her was clearly a seasoned warrior, nothing further from what Elara had been. "You reminded me of someone I used to know."
"Don't be so cold, Lion!" the redhead said, butting in with a bright smile. "Her friend must've been quite the beauty if she looked anything like you! Just like me!"
"I'm glad you arrived, Alise," Shakti interrupted, talking to the redhead. "But where's Lady Astraea? We'll need her help to question the new arrivals."
"Yes, I can see we are greatly needed here…" the black-haired human said, looking at the practically empty line. "Indeed a worthy use of our time…"
"Lady Astraea will be here shortly," replied the elf, Lion, ignoring the sarcastic comment of her companion. "She had to take a small detour before coming here."
Shakti gave the blonde elf a thankful nod. "Then I'll take my leave, I hope you can take it from here," she said to the girls, giving one last nod to Rünira before walking away toward the long lines of people waiting to enter.
"A little advice for the future, Miss Stranger," the black-haired girl said addressing Rünira for the first time, a smile on her face that didn't seem to reach her eyes. "If you want to look less suspicious, you should consider not hiding your face."
Her voice was calm and not a hint of aggression could be heard on it, but Rünira found herself gulping nervously, noticing for the first the subtle but unmistakable hint of power rolling out of the people in front of her. Rünira had learned from Vanur to recognize the signs of a strong opponent, and the people in front of her were firing off all her alarms.
So these are adventurers, she thought, searching her memories and realising that she had felt the same from Shakti, and even with that creep guard from before. She had just failed to recognize it at the time, her mind being too preoccupied with other things, like the fact she was in a new and unknown place.
"Do not listen to Kaguya," Lion said to her, shooting the black haired girl a reproachful look. "Everyone is entitled to their privacy, and we do not have any reason to suspect you yet."
"Yet?" the pallum said with a smirk on her face. "You sure know how to put them at ease, eh Lion?"
"T-That wasn't my intention," the elf said, looking slightly flustered.
Rünira shook her head, "It's ok, I don't have any real reason to hide," she said, lowering her hood, revealing her face to the four girls.
"A dwarf, huh? How very delightful," said the far easter girl, Kaguya, looking at her with a sardonic smile. "Just what Orario needed, more drunkards and monster fodder."
"Don't say that, Kaguya," Lion said, interrupting Rünira before she could answer. "Are you forgetting about Asta? What would she think if she heard you, her own Familia, talking like that about her kin?"
"You don't know how she was when she first joined," Kaguya answered, shaking her head, a crack appearing in her smiling facade. "Lost, desperate and completely rabid. I lost count of the number of times we had to stop her from practically killing herself in the dungeon."
"Ok! Ok! Enough of the gloomy talk," said Alise clapping her hands loudly, silencing the other girls. "Dwarves have been in a tough spot lately, but they'll rise again strong and proud, just look at Uncle Gareth!"
"You are always so quick to come in defence of the dwarves, Captain," said the pallum with a sly smile. "Our great captain, defender of the poor and the downtrodden. It almost makes me smile."
"Well, that's because I wanted to be born a dwarf!" Alise said with a happy smile. "They are sturdy and strong, for they are meant to shield others! They're tough and resilient, so they can protect a lot of people!"
"Maybe it was like that before The Fall," responded the pink-haired pallum with a grimace. "But now…"
"Now, you would be lucky to find one not passed out drunk on the streets or killing themselves inside the dungeon." finished Kaguya darkly.
Rünira listened to the exchange with a heavy heart. She knew the situation of her people would be bad, but this was worse than anything she could've imagined.
"Is it really that bad?" Rünira interrupted softly, eyes seeking the redhead, with a questioning look "Have dwarves really fallen so low?"
"Don't be so sad! You are so tall and pretty and beautiful, us hot girls can't be like that!" Alise said, giving her a wink. "And look! We both have red hair and green eyes. If I'd been born a dwarf, we'd practically be twins! I know! You can be Little Alise!"
"No thanks," she said firmly, giving the bubbly girl a deadpan look, not missing the fact that she had not answered her question. "My name is Rünira."
Alise laughed. "Rü-ni-ra? hmm… that's too hard," she said with a cute frown. "I'll call you Nira instead!"
"Stop pestering the poor girl, Captain, aside from Lion, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet," the pallum said, turning her head to look at Rünira. "Name's Lyra by the way, nice to meet ya."
"Hoh? Haven't we?" Alise said before Rünira could answer the pallum, a mischievous glint shining in the captain's green eyes.
"Alise, please don't—" Lion began to no avail.
Alise was already striking a heroic pose, face full of amusement. "We save the weak and punish the strong! And sometimes punish both! Integrity is justice as our scale of righteousness defines!" she yelled passionately, while the rest of the girls tried to hide their faces behind their hands. "We value order and cherish smiles! On our backs rest the righteous sword and the wings of justice!"
"—We are Astraea Familia!—"
Alise's powerful voice resonated through the city gate, many of the people waiting in line turning their heads to look at the redhead. Rünira just watched the whole performance, with a small frown, the redhead's words resonating in her ears as she lowered her gaze, hiding her face from the Astraea Familia.
"Save the weak… wings of justice?" Rünira repeated, nails digging into her palms, her voice fragile and full of grief as she fought to keep the glumness from her face. She looked up meeting the gazes of the adventurers, memories of fire and death burning behind her eyes. "There's no justice in this world…"
Her voice was quiet but it carried over, the four girls regarding her with different expressions at her comment, from pity and understanding to complete indifference. But out of all of them, it was Alise that seemed the most affected by Rünira's words and apparent lack of belief in the existence of justice.
"Oh my, I wonder if I should feel offended by that."
The melodic voice came in, dousing the tense atmosphere like a cool breeze on a summer night. All the girls around Rünira perked up, smiles sprouting on their faces as they turned to greet the newcomer, giving her a chance to look at the person approaching from inside the city.
A pure white dress, bright chestnut hair and warm indigo eyes greeted Rünira, as the goddess, for a woman of such perfection could not be of mortal origin, walked towards them with a gentle smile on her face.
Rünira couldn't put it into words, but the sight of this woman, the sound of her voice, the very presence she exuded, made her hair stand on end. She was before a real goddess, an immortal deity of the heavens, a being of untold, unimaginable pow—
"My! You're so cute!"
And just like that, Rünira was wrapped in a tight embrace, face being pressed against a soft and very generous bosom, preventing her from breathing.
What!?
"Goddess!" Lion protested with an indignant squeal, the pink haired pallum beside her shaking her head and rolling her eyes with a knowing smirk.
"Lady Astraea, please refrain from performing such indignities while in public," Kaguya said, running a hand through her hair in clear frustration. "As the Goddess of purity and justice, you have an image to uphold."
"Thas right! If anything you should do that with me!" Alise let out with a pout, drawing matching pained groans from the rest of her companions.
Astraea just laughed at her children's reprimands, letting go of Rünira who began gasping for air. The goddess seemed to be in high spirits, much like the captain of her familia, her presence alone seemed to be enough to brighten the mood of the people around her, bringing smiles to their faces.
"Can we get this over with?" Rünira cut in after getting her breath back, looking at the goddess, with her cheeks slightly red. "I'd like to get into the city before dark if possible."
"Oh, are we wasting your time?" Kaguya asked with a smile so sharp it could cut steel. "Our most sincere apologies…"
"Kaguya, be nice," Astraea said, admonishing her child gently, a benevolent smile never leaving her face. "Remember that kindness to all, no matter who they are, is one of the purest and most genuine forms of justice."
Kaguya lowered her head in deference, clearly chastised by her goddess words. "You are right of course, Lady Astraea," she said, before looking up, maroon gaze falling on Rünira, empty of her previous hostility, offering her a small bow. "I apologise for my words Miss dwarf, they were born of frustration, not of malice. I hope you can forgive me."
"It's fine," Rünira said, waving off the apology with a shake of her hand. "But just as long as you call me Rünira, I don't like this whole 'Miss dwarf' thing."
Kaguya laughed gently, a genuine smile appearing on her face. "I'll be sure to do that…Nira," she said, eyes full of mirth. "You may call me Kaguya as well."
Rünira watched with no small amount of exasperation as the girls, including the goddess, laughed at Kaguya's words, seemingly finding the misuse of her name particularly amusing. All except for the blonde elf, Lion, who had a completely resigned look etched on her face and was giving Rünira a look of sympathy.
"Alise," Astraea started, catching the redhead's attention once the laughter died down. "Please take the girls and go assist the Ganesha Familia with the other lines, they seemed to be in need of a little help."
Alise simply nodded to her patron goddess, giving a wave and a wink to Rünira. "Let's go y'all! Ganesha Familia is in desperate need of our purity and beauty!" she said to the rest of the girls, leading the way towards a group of men with orange masks, who seemed to be having trouble with some rowdy people waiting to enter the city.
"Are you certain, Lady Astraea?" Lion asked the goddess, briefly glancing in Rünira's direction, while the two other girls followed after their captain. "I am sure Miss Rünira is an upstanding person, but I would feel better if you were to remain protected."
Astraea just smiled benevolently at her child. "I'm sure it will be fine, Ryuu," she said to the elf. "I can tell that Miss Rünira here holds a pure heart."
Lion didn't look convinced, but acquiesced to her goddess nonetheless, giving both her and Rünira a small nod before turning around and following her companions.
"Well then," Astraea began, producing a clipboard and a pen once they were alone, or as alone as they could be with a large crowd of people not that far away. "Shall we get started?"
"That's it?" Rünira said, looking bemused, as Astraea finished writing her answers. The process had taken a relatively long time as the Goddess Astraea seemed to be more interested in chatting than questioning her, and the questions she did ask were few and not very probing. Not exactly what Rünira had been expecting after her conversation with Shakti and the perverted guard. She hasn't even asked her why I came to Orario!
"Why, Yes. I asked all the questions I felt necessary, and you answered them honestly," Astraea said pleasantly, looking up from her what she was writing to look at her. "Were you expecting something more?"
"But…how would you even know I wasn't lying?" Rünira asked incredulously, not wanting to believe that the goddess in front of her could be so naive. "I mean, not that I did but, I could've easily lied to you."
Astraea just looked at her, surprise flashing across her face for a moment, before bursting into giggles, her shoulders shaking from the action, making her ample bosom bounce ostensibly in front of Rünira's face. Not that she was looking of course.
"W-What's so funny?" Rünira asked testily, trying to hide the heat creeping up her cheeks.
"I-I'm sorry, it's not your fault," Astraea asked, still shaking slightly from her bout of laughter. "I guess you've never had much contact with gods, have you?
"You're the first one I've met actually," Rünira confessed, looking at Astraea with a curious look in her eyes. "How did you know?"
"Because it's common knowledge that gods can always tell when a mortal is intentionally being disingenuous," the goddess pointed out with a smile. "That's the main reason we deities are often asked to perform this task, it's just easier for everyone involved."
Rünira looked into Astraea's eyes, processing what she had just heard. "So…no matter what we do, we can't lie to gods?" she said tentatively, a sense of unease welling up inside her. "That's a bit…unsettling."
Astraea shook her head. "It's not that simple, mortals can still say falsehoods to a deity as long as they believe them to be true," she explained kindly, probably sensing Rünira's concern. "It's a subtle difference but an important one to know, as people in the past have found ways around our abilities to sense lies. Of course, you can always refuse to answer too."
"Should you be telling me all this?" Rünira asked a little worried, Astraea had been nothing but helpful and kind to her and she didn't want to get her in trouble.
"Probably not," Astraea said with a playful look, before taking on a more serious tone. "But as I told Ryuu, I can feel that you are a good person, and I know you'll not use this information for evil."
"How can you be so sure?" Rünira asked, trying not to sound as vulnerable as she was feeling. "You don't know me, or what I've been through."
"Call it a goddess intuition," Astraea answered simply, mischievousness shining clear in her indigo eyes.
Rünira let out a groan, not very surprised by the goddess' vague answer. Larfal had told her countless times that deities were fickle beings, going from earnest and forthcoming to childish and petulant in a blink of an eye and with no rhyme or reason. But so far, this was the first time the Goddess Astraea had shown any behaviour similar to what the High Elf King had described.
"You are certainly not what I was expecting a god to be," she said, a small smile finding its way to her face. "You're very nice."
"Why thank you! That's certainly high praise coming from a dwarf," Astraea answered happily. "Especially considering the reputation some of us have amongst certain groups of children, not that I can blame them though, seeing how some of my peers like to behave…"
"You have no idea…" Rünira muttered under her breath, memories of both her father and Larfal, flashing in her mind before deciding to change the topic. "Anyways, does this mean I'm allowed to enter now?"
Astraea nodded, "We are all finished here," she confirmed, moving out of the way, both literally and figuratively opening the path to the city. "Welcome to Orario."
Rünira grinned both happy and relieved but stopped before she could fully take her first step.
"Um, Lady Astraea?" she said, suddenly remembering the task entrusted to her by Larfal. "Would you perhaps know where I could find the Loki Familia?"
A/N: We've finally reached Orario! I had fun writing this chapter and I'll be quite happy if I managed to capture the girl's personality even if just a little.
Fun fact for those of you reading on FF, Alise wanting to be a dwarf is actually canon, as she said that exact line in the Astraea record event on the mobile game. (Also the Astraea Familia introduction "speech" was taken from said event, though very slightly modified.)
A small note about the timeline: Rünira arrives about a year after the events of Astraea Record, and a couple of days/a week after the nightmare of the 27Th floor. It will be clarified in later chapters, but I feel like it would be good if everyone knows from the start where (when?) we are.
Also, for consistency's sake, I'll be using the wiki's spellings of the characters' names, as I find the LN's versions to miss the mark quite often (seriously, Reveria Riyos Ahrve? Fynn? Benevolent Mistress? smh).