Author's Note: Right, so here's chapter 16. I'll be going back at some point to change parts of Poseidon's Authorities now that I have a better grasp on the nuances of Divine Authorities. The changes will be to [Horse Lord] and [Earthshaker], but it will only happen when I have the time. Enjoy.

My writing schedule is on my profile! Check there for when the next chapter comes out BEFORE asking in a review or a PM!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Campione!

"Godō" - Regular Speech

'My Everyday life…!' - Thoughts

"God Slayer!" - Heretic God/Powered Up Campione speech

"Fire!" - Magic/Authority Use

Beta'd By BigCC

Chapter 16: Hearth of Home and Oath of Gold

Several Days Later, Morning

Corridor and Living Room, Jean's House, Rìgh Rubh'a

Rebecca yawned as she padded out of her room. The last week or so since Jean had defeated the Heretic God Azazel and won sovereignty of Scotland from the Black Prince Alec had been hectic to say the least. First there had been the clean-up and cover-up for the unexpected storm that Jean had caused during her fight with the Scapegoat. That had been easy, simply attributing it to global warming and the aftereffects of one of the numerous hurricanes that had crossed the Atlantic.

What had been less easily taken care of had been the physical evidence left behind by Lord Alec's use of [Wandering Avarice]. A large hole thirty meters around and deep does not simply appear out of nowhere, after all. Fortunately for the Hearth Mage's sanity, one of the foreign observers in Oban had restored the land to its former condition over the course of three days, while another had layered an illusion over it during that time to prevent people from seeing it.

Performing her morning ablutions, the hazel-haired young woman then thought about the next thing to occur: the arrival of an entire removal van, which had held all of her clothes, magical implements and other possessions. Princess Alice had evidently taken her side against her family, which was both touching and an honour for the former member of the Piper Family.

Luckily the house had been sparsely decorated when they had purchased it and Mistress Jean had yet to show any form of interest in decorating, so Rebecca had plenty of room for her stuff. Jean had even given her a room near the top of the house for her workshop, although it was unnecessary as Rebecca was a Hearth Witch; therefore, her workshop was the kitchen by default.

The next fly in the ointment that had needed her attention, Rebecca mused as she returned to her room to get dressed, had been the Argyll and Bute Council. Because Jean's finances had registered a large amount of cash going into it, the money from the Brotherhood of the Night Sky, they had, so an agent of the Witenagemot had reported to her, been about to refuse Jean's PIP. That wouldn't do, so the various agents of the Witenagemot dotted in and around Argyll had enjoyed themselves by modifying memories, paperwork trails and even the data on both the Council's system and the Royal Bank of Scotland's system.

That was a very new type of thing to get used to; the recent jump in technological innovation in the past twenty to thirty years had necessitated a change in the doctrine of the various magical orders around the world to include modern computing courses as a part of their education, as well as the development of a sort of techno-magic so they could remove incriminating footage of mages going about their duties in a crisis situation quickly and efficiently. It was one of the few ways Mage Organisations in developing countries were luckier than those already established in First World ones; the number of security cameras, outside of police states, were very slim away from the centres of power.

Using such resources in order to bamboozle the mundane government and banking world was usually strictly forbidden, but using the 'whim of a Campione' excuse had made the other mages who had protested fold like a house of cards. Even although Jean hadn't explicitly stated that she wanted the PIP at all costs, Rebecca had twisted the truth somewhat in order to make up for the blunder of using Jean's account for the money instead of setting up a new account for it, thus causing this situation in the first place.

When Rebecca was dressed, she headed down to the living room, to find the newly crowned King of Magical Scotland dressed in denim shorts and a t-shirt, sitting back and sipping a can of Diet Coke whilst watching TV.

"Am I jumping the gun Baldrick, or are the words 'I have a cunning plan' marching with ill-deserved confidence in the direction of this conversation?"

Hearing Jean giggle at Blackadder the Third made Rebecca shake her head bemusedly. You would never catch any of the other Campione doing this. Certainly not any of the older generation of Campione at least; she wasn't entirely certain that Luo Hao knew what a television was to begin with, never mind Duke Voban or Madame Aisha.

"Enjoying yourself, Jean?" the Hearth Witch asked as she made her presence known.

"Very much so." the redhead Godslayer replied, entirely unruffled by her subordinate's sudden appearance. "I haven't had a chance to sit down and watch the telly in ages; certainly not since before my exams. I hate exams."

"I have yet to encounter someone who actively enjoys such things." Rebecca said dryly. "So what's on your plate today?"

"I have to contract some workers to break up and remove that concrete helipad out front." Jean listed. "Then I have to practice my moves with the [Tríaina] to get them into my muscle memory. That'll take up most of the morning. This afternoon, I have to meet Xie Yue to get this whole business with Luo Hao out of the way."

"You do remember that Her Eminence wants to fight you, right?" the Hearth Witch pointed out unnecessarily.

"Yes, I am aware." The Scottish girl answered patiently. "If I can persuade Luo Hao to fight me somewhere that is reasonably empty and/or abandoned such as…oh, the Steppes in Mongolia or a volcanic island, then any collateral damage will be minimal and easily covered up."

"It is times like these I thank the gods you are nothing like Lord Salvatore, milady." Rebecca sighed in relief. She must have done something very right in one or more of her past lives to have earned a superior like Jean; caring, protective, efficient and capable of forethought. Quite unlike most Campione.

"Doni isn't so bad…in controlled doses." Jean said with a shrug. "Anyway, I'm going to finish this episode before starting on my schedule. Pull up a pew?"

"I have to prepare things for the full moon in a couple of days' time." Rebecca said apologetically. "I have to get the right spell assembled and ensure that enough magic has been absorbed by the ward stones. Once all that's done, I have to ensure that adding the magic of a Campione to the mix won't cause a catastrophe or something."

"Is that likely?" Jean blinked in surprise.

"Unsurprisingly, a Campione has never leant their power to the creation of a Hearth Witch's Hearth before." The former Witenagemot Witch shrugged. "Thus we are venturing deeply uncharted territory for this attempt. The closest I've come to a comparison are Coven Hearths created by a large, extended family of Hearth Witches working in sync, and that doesn't even come close to approximating a Campione in any way, shape, or form. Still, considering it's a benign and relatively harmless ritual meant for one express purpose, I honestly can't see how it could go wrong, but I'm going to go over the ritual with a fine-toothed comb just in case."

"Sensible of you." The Campione nodded. "If you need a hand, just give me a shout."

"Thanks." Rebecca smiled at her friend. "Be careful with Xie Yue. She's a Daoist Mage as well as a martial artist."

"What's the difference between a standard magic user and a Daoist mage?" Jean asked with a frown.

"Daoism Magic uses the Wu Xing table of elements rather than the usual earth, water, wind and fire that Hermetic Magic uses." The Hearth Witch explained. "They are , huo, tu, jīn and shui. Or, in English, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Daoist mages use the Wu Xing for geomancy, more commonly known as Feng Shūi, martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine and of course standard spells, among other things. They are tricky to deal with if you aren't accustomed to how they operate and use their magic."

"Such as?"

"Unlike most magic traditions, they don't use wands, staves and the like for normal magic." Rebecca stated. "Their equivalent of Knights and Great Knights will still occasionally use weapons as a focus, but normally Daoist Mages use martial arts movements in order to cast their spells. Also, several organizations are known to have members that specialize in the brewing of mystical poisons, so watch what she gives you to eat or drink, as well as any incense she burns. I'm not certain that anything they produce can bypass a Campione's mystic constitution, but it is better safe than sorry."

"Roger that." Jean nodded. "I doubt she's going to try anything like that though. I scare the pants off of her."

"I honestly doubt you'd have to scare her in order to get her trousers off, Jean." The brunette smirked. "I could tell when she was here that she was attracted to you."

"Yeah…she was also competing with you for some reason?" Jean raised an eyebrow enquiringly.

"We're both relatively low-ranking magic users in our respective organisations…or at least, I was." Rebecca shrugged again. "We were trying to determine pecking order between us, but you slapped us both down, albeit politely, so we never got that sorted out. If she joins our fledgling organisation, she'll acquiesce to my higher rank, I think."

"This organisation thing is going to be a pain in my ass, isn't it?" Jean eyed Rebecca wearily.

"Not necessarily. Alec and Luo Hao have their own organisations at their beck and call, but they don't act as leaders except when they need to." The Hearth Witch answered candidly. "Alec's a lot better than most Campione in that regard, actually. He takes good care of his subordinates and ensures that the Royal Arsenal are well organised and led during his frequent absences."

"Well I'm not about to let that sneak thief get one over on me." Jean huffed.

Seeing Jean so disgruntled by the mention of her fellow British Campione was actually rather adorable, at least in Rebecca's opinion. The pretty boy Campione of the Royal Arsenal definitely rubbed Jean the wrong way. Jean had a great deal of respect for one's rights of ownership and Alec's cavalier attitude towards the belongings of others offended her deeply.

"Honestly…what a strange master I have." Rebecca whispered after she bid Jean farewell and left her in the living room to watch Blackadder.

Later that Day

Columba Hotel, Oban

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Xie Yue bowed nervously to Jean as she entered the lobby of the Daoist Mage's hotel.

"Not in public, please." The redhead stifled a sigh. It was bad enough having Rebecca do it in formal situations, let alone when the hazel-haired woman twitted her with it in jest.

"Of course. Should we talk in my room?" Yue said nervously.

"Sure. Lead the way." Jean nodded and the two started walking.

"Can I ask how Rebecca Gardener is taking her disinherited status?" the Daoist Mage asked carefully as they climbed the stairs.

"She's recovered quite a bit." Jean scowled. "I will be having words with Princess Alice about the conduct of the Piper family towards her in this case. I was under the impression that no one dared to cross a Campione, and yet thrice have I been either insulted, attacked, or both since I became a Campione."

Jean noticed that when she got angry nowadays, she either spoke roughly or got super formal. She suspected that it was the influences of Davy Jones and Joan of Arc, respectively, leaking through. Thus far, nothing had leaked through from Poseidon or Azazel, but the redhead gloomily suspected it was only a matter of time. Darned overblown egos of overly powerful gods, goddesses and legends.

"It isn't uncommon for that to happen, my lady." Yue said nervously. "King Kusanagi was reportedly mobbed by a group of Italian Mages not long after he was reborn as a Campione. From what I have heard, both you and he are similar in that you are unassuming with your power, so despite the sheer volume of power that you have around you, most would be brave enough to challenge you."

That irked the redheaded girl a bit. "So because I'm not acting like the reincarnation of Nero or Caligula, they think they can walk all over me, do they?" she muttered darkly.

"It isn't that, but…Campione are so, so rare, my Lady." The Chinese girl said with a gulp at Jean's visible anger. "The most Campione at any one time is rumoured to have been a dozen about twelve-hundred years ago. The rare periods where there are no Campione are times when the Heretic Gods run rampant over the world. Devil Kings protect us from Heretic Gods, but they also terrify and awe we magic users. Fear and respect are two sides of the same coin in this case, so those who claim to be Campione, but are not, are punished for their transgressions."

This made Jean pause. It made sense that some crafty magic users would masquerade as a Campione at some point in history. It also made sense that other Mages who discovered that they were fakes would also deal out a suitable punishment to these fakes. That made sense, but who would be stupid enough to fake it as a Campione when there were seven of them, now eight, running around the world?

"You would be surprised." Yue said dryly after Jean voiced her thought as they approached her door. "The Campione claim specific parts of the world and countries as their domains and pretty much ignore other places. Madame Aisha is the exception due to her wanderlust. His Grace Duke Voban is the King of the Balkans, Salvatore Doni rules Italy, Her Eminence is the Ruler of China and a part of the former USSR, John Pluto Smith rules North America and the southern section of Canada, King Kusanagi has just risen as King of Japan, Lord Alec rules most of Britain and you have just taken the crown of Scotland for yourself. Usually, Campione stay within their domains unless a Heretic God appears outside of it. That gives those who fake it plenty of scope for their deceptions."

"Seems to me like Heretic Gods move to attack the closest Campione they find." Jean mused. "The only exception would be Azazel and Sariel. If their words are to be believed, they descended from the Domain of Immortality where the entrance to Dudael is rumoured to be, somewhere east of Jerusalem."

The Daoist Mage blinked in surprise. "They deliberately avoided both Lord Salvatore and Duke Voban in order to come here? Why?"

"Azazel was known for Falling due to seducing women. I am one of the scarce female Campione in the world." Jean said sourly. "In addition to that, I am the youngest, and thus weakest, between myself, Luo Hao and Madame Aisha. I would wager he had plans to deal with me before moving on to my two sisters."

"Her Eminence would have won." Yue stated firmly as she swiped her card in the door, letting them in. The room was about what you'd expect for a three-star hotel in a tourist town like Oban; small but cosy. One thing that definitely stood out in the room was the two-and-a-half meter tall mirror secured to the wall with what Jean was assuming was the magical equivalent of blu-tack or nails.

"Fancy mirror." She commented.

"It's a communication mirror." Yue explained. "Each is made in a pair and connected to each other. Doing so allows Her Eminence to contact her agents with a small infusion of her magical energy. Only a Paladin or Great Knight level Mage can use these mirrors aside from her, and I am far from a Great Knight, let alone a Paladin."

Jean cast out her ability to sense magic and agreed with the girl. She was stronger than Rebecca when the older woman was away from her Hearth, at least three times as strong actually, which put Yue at the upper end of average among the various magic users the redhead had met since becoming a Campione.

"So I take it Luo Hao is going to contact you soon via this mirror?" she prodded the Daoist Mage.

"Yes, she directed me to invite you here today so that she could speak with you face to face…in a manner of speaking." Yue essayed a small smile that grew when Jean responded in kind. "That should be in about five to ten minutes. I…I was hoping we could talk beforehand, my Lady?"

"Sure." The Scottish Campione nodded. The two took a seat; or rather, Jean took a seat while Yue nervously sat on the bed.

"This…isn't easy for me." Yue admitted after a long moment of silence.

"Considering how most Campione are, it fails to surprise me." Jean said, an understanding look on her face. "And the fight a few days ago must have scared you somewhat."

A choked laugh escaped the Chinese teen. "Considering that everything I know about magic tells me that using the amount of power you used during your fight with Lord Alec and Azazel should have melted your brains? At the very least? Yes, the thought of so much magical energy being manipulated by a human with no adverse effects does scare me. And awe me. And arouse me."

Although she flushed red at the last one, Jean did smirk. Some people were turned on by different things; attitude, body types and so on. By the looks of things, Xie Yue was aroused by women with large magical reserves using their power around her. And Campione were the top of the field in magical reserves among humans.

"So Rebecca thinks you might want to join my new organisation, name pending." Jean said with a knowing smile at the startled jolt of the other girl. "Any truth to that suspicion?"

"It's going to be my reward from Her Eminence for successfully completing this mission, actually." Yue admitted once she recovered. "I like the Cult of Five Mountains, don't get me wrong; it has all the resources that a Daoist Mage and martial artist could ask for, but…well, the conservative nature of a lot of the Mages there leaves a lot to be desired. I'm just…tired. Just so tired of being looked down on for preferring the company of women in my bed as opposed to men. Her Eminence knows this and is offering to hand me over to you as an incentive for me to complete this mission successfully."

"Better a high-ranking member in a fledgling organisation than a low ranking member in an old and well-established one, is it?" Jean nodded. Rebecca had listed the same reason as cover for actually liking her, which was flattering.

"The only thing I dislike about this situation is that I scare you." The redhead continued evenly. "I do not like scaring people I work with…or take as a concubine, as I'm certain most people who hear of this will take it as."

"That is…highly likely, yes." Yue agreed with a flush. "I honestly do not know what to say other than I will do my best to overcome my fear."

"That will be good enough for now." The redheaded Campione agreed.

A glow from the mirror made Yue get up and kneel before the mirror. When the visage of Luo Cuilian appeared on the surface of the mirror itself, in full colour no less, the Daoist Mage kowtowed and said, "Wànsuì, wànsuì, wànwànsuì!"

"Hei sun." The Ruler of the Martial Realm said with a nod before her gaze locked onto Jean, appraising her. "Hoo…greetings, new Campione."

"Luo Cuilian, Ruler of the Martial Realm and my adopted sister by Mother Pandora's divine right." Jean inclined her head respectfully as she stood also to face her fellow Campione. The vision of beauty that was Luo Hao could barely be described with words. She was a tall Chinese woman seeming to be in her late teens at best, with long black hair tied up into a pair of buns on either side of her head, one of which resembled a blooming flower. Emerald green eyes alight with curiosity and intelligence sparked as she examined Jean with the same scrutiny as Jean was giving her. The white dress and separate blue blouse she wore was probably clothing from the Han Dynasty, as Rebecca had told her that was the clothing style that the Supreme Martial Artist favoured. The body contained within said clothes was the so-called 'hourglass figure' that drew the gazes of men and women alike.

"Indeed?" a small smirk played across Luo Hao's face. "It is true, the one who reincarnated this martial artist does often ask to be referred to as my mother, but I do not humour her; I am too old for such things. But enough of that. Yue'er, you have succeeded in your mission. I am pleased with your efforts."

Yue raised herself to one knee and saluted her current mistress in the manner of a Chinese Martial Artist. "It is my duty and honour to serve."

The Chinese Campione nodded, as if such an attitude was her due…which to be fair, it probably was. "Good. I shall keep my word and release you from my service should my…new sister…wish to acquire you."

"I would be happy to do so." Jean said smoothly. "From what my current advisor, Rebecca Gardener, has told me, the powers of a Daoist Mage who specialises in Feng Shūi such as Xie Yue would synergise well with her powers as a Hearth Witch. I thank you for your generosity in this matter, Sister."

"It is of no trouble whatsoever." The slight blush on the face of Luo Cuilian's face was adorable. "Martial Artists should go where they flourish; Yue'er is not flourishing in my Holy Five Mountains Cult, so I would have her flourish elsewhere if it is necessary. The dislike some on my disciples have for her choice in bedmates is most irksome."

"I am rather surprised that you tolerate such attitudes." Jean remarked. "Everything that I have heard about you tells me you do not care for the gender or preferences of others, so why your disciples think that their opinions of partner preferences should hold any meaning puzzles me."

"Indeed." Luo Hao frowned slightly. "I shall gather the troublemakers and explain my displeasure to them while I test their skills. Most are lacking in that regard, a further reason for them to dislike Yue'er; she is a rising prodigy in the Martial Arts, although her Daoist skills are not growing apace with them."

"She's only seventeen." Jean pointed out calmly. "Rome was not built in a day and neither are the skills of a martial artist or a mage. May I ask why you refer to her with 'er' at the end of her name? It is my understanding that it is somewhat analogous to the Japanese '-chan' suffix."

"She reminds me of myself at her age." The Ruler of the Martial Realm, a 200+ year old woman shrugged eloquently. "My own skill with Daoist Magic did not blossom until my mid-twenties, shortly before I slew my first Heretic God. It is for that reason that I met her, witnessed her skills myself and chose her as one of my agents. It offered her a degree of protection from those who were jealous of her on one hand, and allowed her the freedom of movement to leave on 'scouting missions' whenever she wanted."

"Thanks to the mercy and kindness of Her Eminence, I have been able to endure the actions of my dissenters up until this point." Yue said in a small voice.

"Very well then. I shall happily receive your agent into my fledgling organisation." The Scottish Campione nodded. "Might I ask if any resources can be given to her as a parting gift? I am unsure about the availability of the ingredients for Traditional Chinese Medicine in the West, and our repository of Martial Arts knowledge is also sub-par."

"As it has always been." Luo Hao sighed in apparent exasperation. "Very well. I shall have my Disciple, Lu Yinghua, deliver Yue'er's…what is the modern term? Severance package? Yes...I shall have him deliver it within the next week. Moving on…when would be a good time for us to fight, Sister?"

'Ah…so that's why she's been so reasonable about this.' The redhead thought, letting out a small, internal sigh.

Aloud, she said, "It's November right now, and I've been rushed off my feet fighting and dealing with idiot mages who don't believe me to be a Campione for the last two months. How does the day after the end of Chinese New Year, in the Steppes of Mongolia, sound to you? No one will bother us there and we can fight to our hearts content."

"Hoooh…indeed, that sounds like an excellent idea." Luo Cuilian said, eyes flashing with battle-lust. "Yes, starting the New Year with a battle is a wonderful idea! I look forward to it! I shall meet you in Ulaanbaatar at the promised date."

"I look forward to exchanging pointers with you as well, Senior." Jean copied the salute that Yue had given her now-former mistress at the start of this little conversation. She also used her polyglot abilities to ensure that she spoke formal Mandarin as she did so, which made Yue look up in surprise and earned her a laugh from her sister.

"Hah! You are indeed a warrior! Much like my Sworn Brother Godō!" she laughed proudly.

"Can I ask what he is like?" Jean asked, letting her own curiosity get the best of her. Most of the descriptions she had been given of her youngest sibling had been second-hand at best.

"Oh, he is a fine warrior. He was actually able to land a solid blow on me!" The Ruler of the Martial Realm expounded, plainly proud of her Sworn Brother's accomplishment. "His false pacifism is mildly irksome, but he is young yet; younger than you are, I believe. He will learn that he cannot maintain it eventually."

"Campione are infamous for being stubborn." Jean said dryly. "He may not realise that pacifism doesn't work at the level of a Campione until it's too late. Mother Pandora is worried about him and wishes me to beat some sense into him. Can I ask for you not to interfere when I do, Sister?"

"A sound thrashing is what he needs to wake him up." Luo Cuilian agreed with an approving nod. "I have no desire to see my Sworn Brother slain because his ridiculous ideal got in the way. By all means, Little Sister, have at him."

"My thanks, Elder Sister." Jean replied with another salute. Up until this point, she had used the Chinese word for 'sister' (Jiě), but now she used 'elder sister' (Jiějiě) to recognise both Luo Hao's superiority as her elder and the family tie that the older Campione had implied by her use of 'little sister' (Xiao Mèimei).

The smile that the Ruler of the Martial Realm gave her was one of approval. "Very well. You will have much to do in order to set up your organisation and organise Yue'er's transferal into it. I shall leave you here. Keep the mirror so we may talk as and when we need to…if, for example my foolish disciple takes the wrong scrolls with him."

"From your lips to my ears, Elder Sister." Jean nodded.

With that, the mirror blanked out, leaving Jean and Yue alone in the hotel room.

Xie Yue, now that Jean was looking at her properly, looked a mixture of shocked, awed and utterly bamboozled. Looking between the mirror and her new mistress like a slow pendulum, the Chinese girl looked as if Chairman Mao had just wandered in dressed like a ballerina, pink tutu and all, and had a dance off with Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jean asked in amusement.

"Y-You just…talked to Her Eminence as if you were family!" Yue stammered out in disbelief. "That's just…not even Lu Yinghua has that honour!"

"Something that Rebecca told me about her was that Luo Hao responds well to formality and politeness based on station." The redhead explained simply. "By introducing myself as both her socio-political equal and as her younger sister, and gradually treating her with respect and deference, she allowed me to call her that. It would only work for someone who truly sees themselves as Mother Pandora's child, as well as someone who genuinely respects her, which I do. Now, let's get you checked out of here and over to my house. Have you filed for a temporary visa?"

Off-balance and still awestruck from seeing her new mistress handle her old mistress like a professional ambassador or politician, the Daoist Mage allowed herself to be chivvied around the room repacking the few things she had taken out of her suitcases.

It was not until much later that Yue would realise Jean had likely done that on purpose in order to get her into Rìgh Rubh'a without a fuss.

Two Days Later

Rìgh Rubh'a, Kerrera

Xie Yue was still dazed a couple of days after the sudden shift in her loyalties and resting place. No sooner had she been hustled into Jean's house than she had been assigned her own room and Rebecca had even given her a workroom on the top floor!

More than that, she had been treated to a ladies night out the previous day and that was why she had woken up this morning with a hangover and without any clothes on, whereas normally she wore a nightgown to bed. Much to her embarrassment, she had given her bra and panties to Jean the previous night before falling asleep in her arms.

'Yes, Yue, that's a wonderful start to your place in a new organisation.' The Daoist Mage thought irritably. 'Drunkenly coming on to your boss and liege like that…honestly!'

Currently, she was standing next to Jean and watching Rebecca as she stood over one of the Ward Stones she was preparing for her Hearth, chanting something in slow, ritualistic Ancient Greek whilst she waved her wand in practiced motions, the magical energy within the stone almost glowing to their sight.

"So what's she doing?" Jean asked and Yue once again resisted the urge to kneel. Her new mistress did not stand on ceremony unless it was absolutely necessary.

"She is activating the stones in preparation for the ritual." Yue explained carefully. "A Hearth requires the four boundary warding stones to be activated and attuned to the casting Witch before the ritual is to begin properly in order to prepare the ritual. I have to say though that the amount of magic in the stones is surprisingly large."

"Could they have absorbed magic from me?" the Campione wondered aloud. "I do radiate magic like a heater whenever I invoke my Authorities, and I've been rather diligent in practicing my skill with the [Tríaina] recently, not to mention the battles against Alec, Azazel and Sariel."

"That…does sound plausible, milady." The Daoist Mage said, blinking slightly in thought. The amount of raw magic that Campione threw around at even the casual use of their Authorities beggared belief, with a lot of the magic being wasted in the invocation and execution, never mind the aftermath, of them. So the warding stones, which naturally drew in and absorbed the latent magic of the world around them, would most likely also absorb at least a portion of the magical spill over from the Authorities used by both Heretic Gods and Campione if they were used in the general vicinity.

"Rebecca's going to have the largest and most powerful Hearth the world has ever seen." Yue whispered in disbelief as she contemplated the unique set of circumstances present here; the size of the property that Rebecca was claiming as her Hearth, the willing aid of a Campione in completing the ritual, as well as the unwitting aid of that self-same Campione in unknowingly charging the warding stones with a large amount of magic from the use of their Authorities.

Since ancient times, the two oldest and most well established types of witches were the Herb and Hearth Witches. There was little to nothing that wasn't known about their magic, at least within those families that still actively practiced the magic. One tenant, that was true for both Herb and Hearth Witches, was that they couldn't simply designate just any location as their Garden or Hearth. There were conditions that had to be fulfilled in order to allow a place to be used as such.

One condition was that it had to be somewhere that the Witch frequented often. Another was that it had to be somewhere that the Witch, or witches if it was a coven of them, could take care of by themselves. This prevented a witch from simply laying down a boundary the size of the Palace of Versailles in the middle of nowhere and making it their Garden/Hearth.

Many people, even in the Orient, where most magic users were Daoist Mages or Onmyōji rather than Witches, had wondered about exactly why this was. Some thought it was the interference of Gods, Heretic or otherwise, in the affairs of humans. The most prevalent theory though was that it related to the nature of Herb and Hearth Witch Magic. It was a close, intimate type magic that depended upon close familiarity and domination of the space around you in order to work it. If you couldn't easily work in and tame everything on a regular basis, you could hardly claim to be familiar with it.

Regardless of whatever reason that the limitation existed, this small islet was approaching as big as you could realistically get a Hearth before the ritual definitely would not work. Not many people realised the size that a Hearth could be due to the misconception that a Hearth only meant a kitchen or living room, which was an easy mistake due to the literal meaning of the Hearth being to do with a fireplace. In actuality, the symbolic meaning of a Hearth encompassed the whole home and the family that lived there, including the garden.

A thought occurred to Yue as she ruminated over this. "Did Rebecca get you to donate blood to her central warding stone?"

"Yeah. She said something about it helping with placing barriers around the island later on." The Campione said casually. "Why?"

"Well…she certainly wasn't wrong…but only as a side effect." Yue shook her head in bemusement. "Hearth Magic is magic of the home. As such, having multiple people bound to one set of stones isn't unheard of, but usually they're either married or life partners. That Rebecca plans to include your blood in the ritual means that she is planning on making you the primary source of the Hearth's energy and thus the one who can command her to alter and shape the Hearth to your liking. For a Hearth Witch, it's…well, more symbolic than getting on her knees and offering you a ring, My Lady. It represents complete devotion, absolute trust and total submission to you in everything."

"She…" Jean swallowed at that. "She told me that if I managed to get her free of the clutches of her family's machinations, she'd give me her lifelong devotion. I guess…this is part of it."

That made Yue's eyebrows shoot up. "Did she indeed?"

The devotion that Rebecca was showing was astounding. Part of it, Yue was certain, came from giving a big 'fuck you' to her former family by so brazenly and recklessly binding herself so totally to her new mistress. Once a Hearth Bond like this was laid down, it was a more absolute tie than a mere partnership or marriage; it could be broken, but generally speaking the only thing that could do so was the death of one of the participants, which usually killed the other one in backlash.

Then again when your partner is a nigh-immortal Godslayer, that issue became much less cumbersome. That and the power boosts having a Campione, a living font of immense magical energy, would provide far outweighed any remaining risk.

The Daoist mage would have to admit that, given similar circumstances she'd have done the same.

It took Rebecca another fifteen minutes to finish activating all of the warding stones. She came back looking rather frazzled and her hair looked as if she had been hit with an electric shock.

"There's just…so much magical power in those stones!" she managed to get out. "Not as much individually as a Paladin-class mage, but together there's almost enough to qualify as a boatload of Great Knights! How did so much gather, I wonder…?"

As Yue informed Rebecca about her suspicions about that, Jean huffed as she watched the two. The Hearth Witch and Daoist Mage were not exactly friends, she could tell. The sense that they were still doing that weird one-upmanship thing that she had broken up on the day that Alec, Azazel and Sariel had attacked was still there, which was making the redhead scratch her head at how to go about solving it.

'Ah well. It hasn't descended into a catfight as of yet, so no need to worry about it.' The Campione thought with a mental shrug. If it got to the point that she had to step in and spank them, either figuratively or literally, then she'd cross that bridge then, not before then.

Five Minutes to Midnight

Kitchen, Jean's House

"Rebecca, relax, dammit." Jean said in exasperation as her first subordinate paced back and forth between the cooker and the kitchen island, where the central warding stone rested. The Hearth Witch had been muttering the spell she needed to cast for the past hour nonstop, and it had gone beyond freaky for Jean.

Yue had called it a night two hours previously and was now snoring (rather cutely, in Jean's opinion) in her bed. Her excuse had been that this ritual was a highly private one between a Hearth Witch and her 'intended' and didn't need her either physically present or awake in order to be included in the initial wards so long as she was physically on the property when they were first cast.

"How can I be?!" the former librarian asked in an almost hysterical manner. "I've researched my ass off, and even had a few of my remaining contacts within the Witenagemot do research for me, but there is absolutely nothing regarding the results of mixing Hearth Magic with the vast magical reserves of a Campione! Not even old tales or legends!"

'Smart people.' The redheaded Scot thought in fond exasperation. Rebecca didn't show this side of herself often, but she was a very intelligent woman and was also a bit high-strung when she came across a problem that her intellect and other mental resources couldn't unravel.

"Rebecca…" Jean stopped the almost frantic girl with a hand on each of her shoulders. "Be straight with me…what do you think would be the worst that could happen with this ritual?"

As Rebecca's mouth opened, she paused, the serious question from her King swapping her frantic actions for her cool head, reengaging her thought processes that her panic had thrown out the window. "Given the safeguards that I have in place, and the fact that you are immune to regular magic, I estimate that even if the central warding stone explodes like a hand grenade, we should be perfectly fine so long as you shield me in time."

"Good thing you taught me that Shield of Hephaestus spell." The redhead observed.

"It is." Rebecca agreed before glancing at the clock. "Ok, it's almost time. You remember your part?"

"Aye. Once you place your hands on the stone, I cover them with my own." Jean nodded patiently. It wasn't as if she hadn't had the instructions given to her once every half-hour or so since midday.

"OK…here I go." Rebecca stepped forward and started the same lilting chant in Ancient Greek that she had used on the other stones, except the accompanying gestures and cadence of her words were more resolute and commanding than before. The glow of the stone's magical energy blazed like the birth of a star to Jean's sight.

What made her pause was the fact that the energy was spreading out from the stone, spreading to gradually fill the room, and then the house, with magical energy. Jean also knew that the magic was flooding outside of the house, drawn to the other warding stones like a moth to a flame. Still, Rebecca had implied that it would take at least five minutes for this sort of visible effect to happen. Was it the amount of magic that they had gathered since they had been buried?

Snapping out of her thoughts when she saw Rebecca place her hands on the stone, Jean strode around to the other side of the kitchen island and placed her hands over the Hearth Witch's own.

"Blessed Hecate, Mistress of Witchcraft and the Crossroads, I call your blessing upon this house. Let those who dwell within it feel your blessing and be gifted with strength to resist those who come to break the way." Rebecca chanted in English. "Gentle Morpheus, Holder of the Marbled Box of Dreams, I entreat your blessing upon this house. Let those who would poison our sleep with nightmares be repelled by your might. Let dreams from the gate of horn guide our path and let dreams from the gate of ivory bring us comfort. I call upon Hermes Trimegistus to empower the spells that bind this house and to weaken those that would assail us."

What she was doing, Jean knew, was simply repeating the chant she had been speaking in Ancient Greek, but this time in English. Why that was necessary the redhead had no idea, but she trusted Rebecca to know her stuff.

"Let the blessing of Nike, golden winged one of Victory incarnate, be upon this house and those who dwell within it." Rebecca continued. "Let Apollo Phoebus bless this house in his form as Apollo Paean, so that all who dwell here are blessed with healing. Finally, let Lady Hestia, Last of the Olympians, Unseen Queen and Goddess of the Hearth and Home, bless this home with her greatest blessing. I, Rebecca Gardener, High Priestess of the Cult of Hestia, I call upon Hestia Polyolbos. Let the flames of this Hearth never die so long as my partner and I draw breath. Let the Home stand strong so long as the Hearth burns. And let none doubt the might of the First Daughter of Cronos and Rhea, she who draws from all sacrifices to the gods equally and without discrimination!"

With an explosive roar, magical fire rose around their shared hands and formed a cheerful, welcoming blaze about the size of a watermelon that floated above the stone and their hands. It felt like…home.

"Slowly remove your hands without touching the Flame of the Hearth." The Hearth Witch whispered.

Slowly and carefully, the Campione did as she was asked. Once both of their hands were out of the way, the flames sank down to rest on the surface of the warding stone and flickered merrily.

"That was quite the ritual." Jean said after a moment before cocking an eyebrow at Rebecca inquisitively. "So what was that part about being a High Priestess?"

"It's an honorary title given to the strongest Hearth Witch of every generation." The hazel-haired girl blushed slightly. "It's purely a ceremonial title, with no extra benefits other than gaining a bit of extra respect from other Hearth Witches…who aren't my family, darn it."

Seeing the girl look depressed again, Jean decided to change the subject a bit. "So, what now?"

"Now we just wait." Rebecca said with a shrug. "Once the ritual is successfully cast, it takes about a day to fully settle into the boundary of the warding stones. Then we can start raising barriers, wards, and the like."

"Nice. By the way, what was that about Hestia Poly-somethingorother…?"

"Hestia Polyolbos." Rebecca smiled. "It means 'Hestia of Many Blessings' and the spell with that name is something only the strongest Hearth Witch in the world can cast. Normally, I would have to list every blessing I wished to enchant my Hearth with, which would take forever. With Hestia Polyolbos, I have all of the blessings included in one package without having to deal with each one individually. It's really quite the convenient spell."

Jean blinked. "I'll say."

"So, umm…" Rebecca looked down and scuffed her foot on the floor. "Do…you remember my promise to you? About what I'd do if you freed me from my family?"

"Yes, but Rebecca, I caused you to get cast out." The redhead said softly. "I honestly can't see that as being a good outcome."

"It was about what I'd expected, Jean." The Hearth Witch shook her head sadly. "Great Aunt Eleanor is far too used to being the one in control. No one in the family dares to go against her…aside from me. She never liked me and tried to marry me off at least a dozen times before I turned twelve."

"How? The legal age of marriage is eighteen in England, or sixteen if you have permission of either your parents or the courts." Jean said in disbelief. "In Scotland, the age of marriage is sixteen, but I can't ever recall anyone doing it that young in Oban."

"Excluding religious laws that permit marriages at the age of nine or ten, the youngest age you can get married in Europe is in Andorra, where you can marry at fourteen with judicial permission." Rebecca informed her friend. "What my Great Aunt was actually planning on doing was forcing me into a Handfasting Bond. That would bind me to the other person until either our families dissolved the bond or it was removed after I was married. Fortunately, my mother managed to throw enough obstacles in Eleanor's way to stop her until I was old enough to join the Witenagemot, which stopped her plans until this last year."

"Because you are legally able to get married." The redhead nodded in understanding. "What a cow."

"An understatement if there ever was one." The Hearth Witch snorted bitterly. "She was putting pressure on me to marry at least once a week, sometimes more. It was driving me up the wall, but I couldn't do anything about it because she was the Primary Hearth Holder at my last Hearth and I would have needed her permission to disentangle myself from the Piper Family Seat's Hearth. She can unilaterally kick anyone out of the Hearth, but if she doesn't want your warding stones to leave, you're stuck."

"So you knew that she'd kick you out of the family when I sent my letter?" Jean asked with wide eyes.

Rebecca hummed and shook her head. "Knew? No. Because she's done this, it's put her in Princess Alice's bad books, which isn't a good situation for any family to be in when your family's a member of the Witenagemot and she's the Speaker of the Witenagemot. I gave it a coin toss of a chance that she'd have enough sense not to do this, but evidently, her pride and anger overrode her good sense in my case. The straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak."

Having the Strongest Witch under Heaven irked at you is not a good thing, Jean suspected. She was rather glad that she was on good terms with the Princess.

"Anyway, the point is that you gained for me my freedom from my family and my possible marriage to Maximillian Harper." The former Witenagemot Witch said with a determined look in her eyes. "I gave you my word that I would swear my undying loyalty to you if you did that and I am a woman of my word."

With a start, Jean felt a condition for one of her Authorities become fulfilled. It was…

"Blazing bright, eternal light. Banner of the Maiden, fly your flag high. An oath to be sworn, upon you to make. Come forth my banner and shine your light. As the Lord wills it, I call out your name!" Jean chanted. "[Luminosité Eternelle]!"

Silver light appeared in front of her and with a flash, the banner of Joan of Arc appeared, floating in the air. A long silver pole taller than Jean, with a white banner wrapped around the topmost part of it.

"Th-this is…!" Rebecca gasped.

Jean reached out and grabbed the shaft of the banner pole, which caused the actual flag to unfurl. As opposed to how it had been when she had last seen it, just after the death of Joan D'Arc, there was no gold on it whatsoever aside from a single fleur-de-lis in the very centre of the flag.

"Jean, what is this?" the Hearth Witch asked in quiet awe.

"This is the Authority I received from Joan of Arc, Rebecca: [Luminosité Eternelle, la Bannière de la Pucelle d'Orléans]." Jean said softly. "This is the first time I have been able to summon it since I received it. It has two functions. The first is one that I have told you of before, the ability to empower my subordinates or summoned creatures. The second is to bind subordinates to me."

"Bind…how?" Rebecca asked.

"If you place your hand on the shaft, you'll see words. If you speak them, you'll be bound to me as my subordinate." The Campione explained. "A passive effect from that is that I will know your location as long as you are within ten miles of me. A more useful effect is that you will be able to draw Divine Energy from me once per day if you absolutely need to do so, no matter how far apart we are. I must warn you, there is a cost to this."

"Which is?"

"You must forswear all allegiances to mortal and magical authority." Jean said steadily. "If you swear this oath, you will not be English or a member of the Witenagemot anymore; you will be mine until the end of days. If you still wish to continue, however…"

She gently tapped the butt of the pole into the floor and a silvery glow started to emanate from both the staff and from Jean. This was a totally impossible Authority. Its main ability could be activated via possessing sworn subordinates or constructs that Jean had created herself, but this part required someone who was absolutely 100% willing to swear allegiance to her above everything else, of their own free will. Exactly how many people would be willing to do that? Not many.

Still the two bonuses Jean had mentioned were the tip of the iceberg. Once sworn to her, the new subordinate of hers gained a bit more magic, as well as had their aging process drastically slowed down, to the point that they had extended lifespans. And those were only the bonuses that Jean was aware of.

Seconds passed, and Jean thought that Rebecca had changed her mind. But then, her spine straightened, her eyes blazed with determination and her right arm came up, pressing her hand to the haft of the pole. Then she began to speak.

"I, Rebecca Gardener, do now abandon my position as a member of the Greenwich Witenagemot and as a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. I swear my life, my soul, my loyalty and my magic to Jean Campbell, the Campione of the Raging Tides. In life and in death, I am yours to command as you see fit. Should I betray this oath, let my magic rebel and tear me apart from within. So mote it be."

Then Jean felt the need to speak. "I, Jean Campbell, Campione of the Raging Tides, accept your oath, Rebecca Gardener. I shall repay honour with honour, trust with trust, and betrayal with death. I swear to protect you from harm and to never abuse this oath to your complete detriment. So mote it be."

Once the last word was spoken, a golden glow emerged from the banner and coalesced into a golden border around the double-pointed flag, as well as a single small fleur-de-lis in the top corner next to the shaft.

Letting the banner go, Jean watched as it vanished into a shower of silver motes of light. Then she caught sight of something on Rebecca.

"Rebecca, your hand!" she gasped.

Puzzled, the Witch looked at her right hand and her eyes widened. Shining in silver light on the back of her right hand was a tattoo in the shape of a sword, and not just any sword; this tattoo was shaped almost exactly like the sword that she had wielded against the Tritons of Poseidon.

"A…visible reminder of the oath?" Jean frowned as she spoke.

"I think it also represents the ability you spoke of that allows me to access some Divine Energy once per day." Rebecca said almost analytically. "I suspect that once I invoke it and expend the energy, this mark will fade away until a day has passed."

Jean sighed before letting out a long yawn. "Haaaah~…OK, I think that's enough magical shenanigans for one night. To bed with us, I think would be the best idea."

The Hearth Witch got caught up in the yawn as well. "I…suppose this can wait until tomorrow to investigate."

"Good, now to bed. Shoo." Jean spun her around and started pushing before pausing. "That fire isn't going to burn my house down, is it?"

"No, don't be silly." The Witch said somewhat indignantly. "Hestian Flames cannot cause harm unless someone invades the house without permission. Even then, the house and everything that belongs here is going to be immune to this particular fire."

"Good to know." Jean nodded judiciously. "Now bed."

Six in the Morning

Kitchen

The Hestian Flame pulsed with the energy that it had gathered from the warding stones, which included the power of two Campione and two Heretic Gods. It had the distinction of being the only Hearth Fire to have gathered so much Divine power since the Hestia Flame in Athens millennia ago.

As such, it was acting as a beacon for something. A crack in the air appeared before it, disgorging a robed figure to the cold tiles of the linoleum floor. It peered around and spotted the flame, which was the only illumination in the whole room.

"Oh my…"

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Next Chapter: A Most Unusual Houseguest

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Authority Expose!

[Black Crown of Witchcraft]

Azazel was the first to introduce spellcraft into the world and thus possesses knowledge and a connection to it that is unparalleled by normal Mages or Witches.

Incantation: Risen from the Cauldron of God, I sin, sin and sin once again! Darkness, gather and coalesce unto me, for I am the fount of magic and witchcraft!

Conditions for Use:

- No other Authorities must be used by the Campione at the same time as this Authority is active.

- An offering of meat must be sacrificed to activate this Authority.

Effect: Manifests a black crown that grants the user all knowledge of witchcraft and other magics, as well as the ability to manipulate the connection that Mages have to their magic, being able to simply cut them off from their power without so much as batting an eyebrow. Offensively, the user is able to wordlessly invoke all spells they know and without gestures as well.

Limitations:

- The constant influx of knowledge will start to give the user a searing migraine after a while, so it can only generally be maintained for ten minutes or so at a time.

- The user does not retain any knowledge of spells they used during the duration of this Authority, although they can write down the instructions for how to use spells while maintaining the Authority.