Laphicet Crowe woke to a blistering heat that had not been there before. He blinked wearily before realising that it was not his small, human body which felt the sensation but rather his greater form. Still waking up fully, the dragon made to move his cathedral before remembering to turn it back into a neck first. Velvet got up with a groan by his side.
Turning his head in the opposite direction it had faced before, Innominat beheld a pinprick of light. Maybe twice the size of a fully grown human and consisting of fluctuating mana; the construct constantly emitted a blistering heat that merely warmed Innominat's golden scales. What was more, it had a scent; one which felt faintly familiar even though Laphicet knew he never smelled it before. The part of him that was Innominat however, had. Musiphe.
"Finally!" The construct exclaimed in an echoing baritone, cheerful despite the situation. "I thought you'd sleep even longer!" Innominat just blinked at the construct, only now noticing thin streamers of mana running up from the planet below; it had no clear form, appeared more than an orb which constantly twisted and turned. Only its colouration remained constant, a deep, flaming red.
"Musiphe," the younger Empyrean greeted, though he could not help but be confused.
Next to him, Velvet looked up sharply. "How did I just hear your voice?" A moment later, her voice echoed from the construct as well: "What do you want?"
Laphicet's eyes narrowed and his gaze was drawn to the glassed crater they slept in, then down to the ground. "I think he transmits between our bodies," he suggested. To Musiphe, Innominat answered as well: "I concur with my sister, you should be asleep." It was not even a question.
Musiphe did not seem to be bothered by their irreverent tones. "Yeah, yeah, but did you know? We're Empyreans, so we can do whatever we want!" The construct made some bobbing motions in tune with his rebuttal, then turned a bit more static while the siblings eyed each other. "But that's beside the point; see, we were watching you two for a little while. Have been waiting for you to gestate properly, girl. Now we wanna meet you in person, being the new Empyrean and all." Icy, irrational fear filled Laphicet in that moment; he had just said earlier that only the other gods could still destroy Minkkubi. Now his own words echoed in his mind. Be it something in his head drawing back or something Velvet did, the construct let out bellowing laughter. "Relax, we aren't going to tear her apart! Ugh, I doubt we even could with how Maotelus is hogging most of the prayers recently, y'know?" Velvet and Laphicet exchanged glances again, both a little more pale still; neither of them felt confident about this, considering that Musiphe likely spoke for all of the elemental Empyreans.
They were distracted from their worries by a loud slapping noise, followed by the construct turning a deep, navy blue and becoming less animated. Ripples ran over its surface, carrying the faint scent of salt and Amenoch. Her firm voice echoed out next with a note of gentleness. "We have many concerns that ought to be addressed in person. Unfortunately, we can not approach you due to the Malevolence surging through the earth. We can not gather together quickly and need to exchange messenges like this, even."
This at least proved one point; Malevolence was still dangerous, even to the other Empyreans. Laphi said as much to Velvet and wondered whether it was a point against or in favour of trusting the four on their intentions. For the time being, he repeated the question Musiphe had not really answered: "I am surprised you're awake at all, considering the current state of Desolation." He was tempted to ask about the arte they used to communicate like this, but that could wait.
Amenoch's chuckling sounded more like a rolling wave caressing the beach than any sound a human throat could produce. "Quite true, quite true. We, just like you, normally slumber to save our strength for when it is needed. Now that Zui Fuu deemed it necessary to undo the seal on you, such a time may have arrived."
The siblings eyed each other again, a little surprised. Innominat took to asking what they both thought: "You know Zui Fuu?"
"Indeed, young Innominat. Zui is an old acquaintance and a dear friend. Her and Zenrus are the only ones still living who descended from the heavenly realms with us. We trust their wisdom and their council beyond all doubts. It was your sister who reignited Zui's faith in the cycle being broken, who chased away her despair when last they met a thousand years ago." He had the distinct feeling that the construct was not addressing him at all with what followed after: "So we wish to thank you for that."
Velvet's lips were pursed, which likely translated somewhat to her draconic body's language. "I didn't do anything extra, so I don't need thanks. More to the point, you leave mankind to their own devices unless the entire race is in mortal peril. Does it actually surprise you that there are no faithful sooner or later, forcing you to sleep most of the time?"
The watery surface suddenly began to boil and steam; they could hear Musiphe's voice again: "Oh, I like her! She got spunk!"
"Get off the line, Musiphe." The construct turned a calmer shade of blue again, though Amenoch's voice held a tinge of amusement. "Though I do agree with him; it is good to see you two so lively."
Neither could tell if the praise was heartfelt, but Laphi did feel a little better at this point; no threats were exchanged at all and they took even Velvet's more abrasive behaviour in stride. He watched the rumbling construct change appearance again, becoming more earthy. The scent of fresh flowers and Eumacia followed. "We are all glad to see that," he began where Amenoch left off. His voice was a little brighter than Musiphe's, a bit more youthful if far more grounded in tone when he addressed Minkkubi. "More importantly, however, is that you have done the impossible yet again; a mere thousand years ago, you were but a mortal woman, content with tending to her sick brother. Now, you have ascended to be our peer."
A moment of silence followed as Velvet frowned; it was interesting to watch her facial expressions and guess her thoughts before Minkkubi spoke. Or perhaps it just took some time to transmit her response to where Laphi was. "... you were snooping around in the earthen historia, weren't you?"
"In fairness," Laphi told his sister quietly, "he is the Empyrean of Earth. To take a look at the memories of the world makes sense for him." It earned him an unamused stare and he shrugged.
They were distracted from their private conversation when Eumacia continued, a slight tremor in his tone now. "I am afraid so; we knew nothing about you back when you last woke us, but your rise to power remains unprecedented. We have been four of the elements for tens of thousands of years, with only Innominat joining us soon after we descended from the heavenly realms."
The construct began to melt into lava almost immediately after the last word was spoken, a now familiar voice once more chiming in: "But Innominat cheated by getting stronger through devouring Malevolence!"
"Can it, Musiphe!"
A chuckle, then the construct returned to its blocky form; Laphi could not help but grin at Velvet, whose frown had melted away much like the earth earlier. The Empyrean's memories from before Laphicet became Innominat were hazy at best, so it was nice to learn a few things beside the pure knowledge he retained. A rumbling sigh echoed at them and Eumacia continued once it was clear Musiphe would not interrupt again, at least not immediately. "We wish to meet you in person, so to speak. To ascertain that our initial impression is correct, that you are one of us and not our enemy. To welcome you among us Empyreans, and to welcome this incarnation of Innominat as well... if possible." The construct appeared to turn this way and that. "You moved from atop where Maotelus is sealed, but a descent might still be difficult for you."
Laphi eyed his sister curiously while she mulled it over; a casual meeting between the gods sounded and felt like something he wanted to experience, but he worried about her. If they were lying about their intentions, she was in mortal peril. Velvet took a deep breath and sought his eyes, both pairs the same shade of bright amber. "I don't think they're lying," she explained. "But even if I did, we can't really afford to irritate those four, can we?"
"You have a point." Laphi sighed, wondering just how two gods of all beings could be forced by their circumstances like that. Then he intoned as Innominat, addressing their fellow Empyreans: "I can learn this arte you are using and maybe create a shortcut to fit myself through for a while. If I leave a shell of myself behind up here to keep the structure up, this should prevent anything odd from happening. I have enough extra mana at hand." There went his plans of bridging the gap between Desolation and its moon with the cosmic earthpulse. That kind of arte would likely take up most remaining reserves.
"Honestly," Minkkubi's voice echoed into his thoughts with open curiousity, "I'm more wondering why you get along with Innominat. Last time I saw you, you were tearing into each other." Laphi blinked, realising that this was true; he had not spent a single moment thinking of the battle they once fought with their domains.
The construct shifted once again, back to the rippling blue. Amenoch explained patiently: "We do not hate Innominat any more than Innominat hates us. He sometimes wakes before his time of actual need, moving to destroy that which needs not yet be destroyed; so we awaken in turn to stop him until that time does arrive. Sometimes, we admittedly need a little wake-up call." He thought he heard a bit of sheepishness there. The construct changed back to the earthy block at that point.
"Not to mention," Eumacia added to Amenoch's explanation, "that during your time, we acted because we did not want humanity suppressed forever, either."
"I see."
Minkkubi fell quiet after her short response, so Laphi took up from there. "Where exactly do we meet up? Should we swim to each of you?" That would take a while with how far they were apart.
Amenoch once again took hold of the construct and answered him. "There is one path we can all take, mostly free of Malevolence still. Meet us at the heart of the world, where all the earthpulses lead in the end."
Laphi faintly knew what she spoke of, but figured they would not need much guidance if all earthpulses led there. "Alright. I will take a while to detach myself and connect with the earth."
"Days are nothing to us, young Innominat." Amenoch's voice made the sphere ripple softly. "We will require a few of them to reach the place ourselves. I look forward to meeting you both in person."
The construct began to fade with those words, quickly degrading into motes of mana. Laphicet and Velvet shared a long look even while he began to make the necessary preparations. "Could we stay here until I'm down in the earthpulses? I need to do a lot of precise work."
"Sure." Velvet slumped onto her back to the cracking of glass, examining the cloudless sky with slowly narrowing eyes. "We only heard three Empyreans, didn't we?"
"You're right," Laphicet agreed absently. "Hyanoa didn't say anything." He let the silence descend after that, at least for a while. Then he could not help but share his feelings: "I don't really like that we have little choice in the matter, but I'm kind of giddy about meeting them."
His sister snorted and threw him a sly look. "Who wouldn't? They are Empyreans after all."
It took Laphi two days to finish his preparations after that; Velvet practiced and hunted around their chosen perch in the dragon's nest. She was just heading back there when a gold-tinted rainbow descended from beyond the horizon; it met the ground ahead, where she knew the earthpulse ran close to the surface. The phenomenon consisted for several minutes as she felt something greater travel through the band of light. Below, Minkkubi watched a giant arte-circle turn almost lazily. Velvet just stepped down into the glass crater when a giant, golden head broke through the center of that circle and beheld her for a moment; the dragons stilled to study each other, but then Innominat continued to push through. One head was joined by a second, slightly smaller one; then another, and another. Eight pairs of eyes finally fell on Minkkubi, the core body they were all connected to hidden by the god's many necks winding around it.
Laphi said nothing even when she saw him, only wordlessly went for a hug while Innominat snaked forward to pull himself around stayed that way for long minutes, their draconic embrace almost comical with the respective Empyreans' sizes. Neither cared for how it may look like; they were brother and sister, now and forevermore.
When the siblings separated, both above the earth and beneath, Laphi smiled at Velvet while Innominat gave Minkkubi a gentle push. "It will take a few days to reach them, let's go."
"Yeah, let's. We should be in Horsa soon, too."
The dragons began to swim through the earthpulse, Innominat's heads surrounding his sister's far smaller body as the greater dragon sailed along in an almost majestic manner. Velvet still felt somewhat odd and cumbersome in comparison to her human body, but she swam and steered smoothly despite the feeling. Just as they broke camp and began to travel once more outside of the earthpulse as well, Minkkubi spotted streamers of mana beginning to follow several of her brother's heads. Velvet cast a glance at Laphi, who looked up at her with an innocent smile. "I figured now is a good time to gather the mana for Zaveid's bullets."
"Alright." She left it at that and focussed on traversing the sandy area; she had trouble believing that this was marshland not too long ago, even though several people in Pendrago and some travelers they met on the way all told the same thing.
The siblings soon returned to the road they were following before and carried on toward Horsa, curiously noting not a single carriage or horse. No one appeared to be on their route, which she found a little odd. Following it led through a small lakebed, past a herd of elephants that Laphi insisted they spend time interacting with because neither of them had ever seen anything like them before, and ultimately through a narrow pass along two hills. Which was where they met other people, though not in the way she preferred.
Having walked halfway through the narrow, four people jumped out from larger boulders in front of her. The rustling of sand and a glance back revealed three more behind them. All were armed, all looked a little ragged. Velvet did not draw her blade yet, but she remained alert. No bows as far as she could see. Laphi remained by her side, relaxed.
Of the four in front of her, the tallest man stepped forward with a grin. Velvet focussed on him, noted that he was taller than her, confident, that his hair was black and unruly, mussed back and out of the way. She noted the sabre he carried, took in the sharp eyes, his sturdy boots, the neatly trimmed, pointy beard. He was still walking, so she spent a moment sizing up the people behind him and those behind her. Three grown men, one adult woman, two teens; the latter stood behind their boss, a boy and a girl.
Turning back to the apparent leader, Velvet could not help but raise an eyebrow. The bandits she heard about were usually more rugged in appearance than that, and more numerous. "Listen up," he called out once he was but a dozen metres away. "We're taking your things now and then you'll be on your way!" The other six closed in on them as he spoke.
Laphi looked around once more and tilted his head up at Velvet. "That sounds surprisingly tame, doesn't it? I remember those stories about what bandits do with women they catch." She threw him a look and he shut up. Unbeknownst to her brother, those 'stories' led to the first and only time Velvet hit her dearest friend back then. Niko scared Laphi so bad at the time that she saw red and did not talk to the other girl for weeks after slapping her.
"Nah, we're not like that. What kind of conquest is a woman if she didn't give herself willingly?"
The dark voice carried to them and gave both siblings pause; that bandit in front of them had answered Laphi, one arm on the hilt of his weapon and the other hanging lazily. He gave them a confident grin even while those behind him exchanged odd looks. The adult man called out: "Uh, boss? Who're you talking to?"
"Can't you see? The kid there of course!"
He motioned for Laphi right next to Velvet, which led to more looks going around. The Crowes could not help but grin at the confusion until the teenaged girl called out next: "But there's only that woman there!"
Her answer made the man hesitate; the atmosphere had already turned from threatening to comical when he motioned for Velvet to wait a second and turned around. "What? Hang on, can't you...?" He trailed off before glancing at the siblings again, one hand stroking his beard in thought. Moments passed, then his eyes lit up. "Oh, they can't! So that's why you travel alone, girl. Looks like it won't be that easy after all!"
Meanwhile, Velvet considered her options. She could just kill them all, but one of them had a powerful enough resonance to see seraphim. Moreover, she knew that many bandits only turned to measures like this because they had no other choice. She was a goddess now, so she might as well try to kill the cause and not the result; it was not like this bunch was any kind of threat to her. "Mind if I ask you a question?" Her tone was calm and stopped the lead bandit after the two steps he took her way. All the rest tensed up from seeing their supposedly easy prey standing fearless. "Why did you turn to banditry?"
The boy in the back stumbled backward at how her tone grew darker with the question. Surprisingly however, it had the adverse effect on the man in front. He blinked and narrowed his eyes, looking her over more closely. "Hey, girl. You mind undoing your braid?"
"...what?"
Her own eyes narrowed at the older man, who stroked his beard again. This was about the last question she had expected, but it certainly distracted her from her previous thoughts; now Velvet was simply befuddled. Laphi did not appear any less confused than her.
His response was as simple as it was weird: "I feel like I saw your face before somewhere."
"That's impossible," Laphi muttered, mostly to himself. Velvet had to agree with him, though the stranger did not answer his claim; he merely strolled forward without a care in the world. Both siblings tensed, but he did not pay their stances any mind. His brows were furrowed as he circled around Velvet, leaning this way and that, eyes slowly going up and down her entire form.
None of the other bandits moved, all of them just as confused as Velvet felt. The silent scrutiny continued until he stood right in front of her, deep in thought. Then, all of a sudden, his eyes widened and he let out a cheerful laugh while slapping his forehead. "Right, of course! Now that's even more interesting! You were with Eizen and that silver flame kid!" Velvet froze solid, as did Laphi by her side. They both stared at the stranger in disbelief, but neither could refuse what was now almost certain. Who this man was.
The riddle solved, his attention then strayed to Laphicet and he leaned down to peer at the seraph boy. "Now that I think about it. My memories of that time are hazy, but haven't I seen you before, too?"
Both still stared at him dumbfounded, though Laphi caught himself at that point. Mana flowed out from him and took hold of the winds, sealing off the area around them as he nodded. Velvet saw the other bandits shudder, obviously feeling something happening without being able to tell what. "Yes," Laphi told the man earnestly. "I am Innominat, the suppressor. I am the one responsible for your demise, the last time around. And for that, I am truly sorry."
"Eh, it's fine, kid. We all gotta do what we gotta do."
Velvet's eyes ran over that man again. His easy grin in the face of mortal danger, the rogueish appearance, that pointy beard she already found familiar before. "I never thought I would get to meet you properly, van Aifread." It remained hard to believe, but speaking his name made the whole thing feel a little more plausible. She offered her hand to the reborn pirate king, who shook it vigorously.
"The one and only! Never thought I'd see familiar faces again!"
"Curious," Laphi commented from the side while the two adults sized each other up once more. "Now we know that not just reborn seraphim can regain memories of their past lives." A moment later, he was shaking Aifread's hand as well.
Velvet, having turned her attention back to the situation at hand, decided to defuse it. "How about a deal: you leave me be and I cook you all a proper meal."
"Deal." He did not even hesitate when she made her offer; Velvet's smile only grew further when the adult woman and one of the men stepped forward to complain at their boss; apparently, they were usually in charge of food and felt themselves insulted. Aifread simply shooed them off with a smile while citing variety as the spice of life, but the flick of his eyes to her left hand made it clear he also knew not to pick this fight.
About an hour later, with the sun already on the descent, all complaints had been silenced when Velvet outdid the usual cooks at their own specialty. It felt nice to prepare food for a larger group again, she had to admit. Everyone dug in heartily and no one stopped before at least asking for seconds. She smiled as she beheld their cheerful faces, hostility and most of the awkwardness since gone. Laphi idled around, examining people more closely as they ate.
"So," Aifread spoke up while sitting down next to her, "how's Eizen these days?"
Velvet made a bit of a face at being reminded, shaking her head sadly. "I haven't seen him yet, but Zaveid told me he turned into a dragon long ago."
She noticed the others listening curiously, but no one interrupted. Aifread sighed, slapping the ground weakly. "Shame, that. He always made things interesting. Zaveid's still around, then?"
"Around and healthy," Velvet told him with a renewed grin, which he returned. "And not scared to throw fists with a god." Her gaze flicked to Laphi, then back to Aifread when he bellowed out a laugh.
"That sounds just like him, it does! Glad to hear at least that old dog is still kicking!"
He made to tip up his bowl of stew, only for Velvet to stop him with a stern look and a finger pointed at his spoon. Aifread grinned and tipped the bowl up after all, emptying it in a few gulps; he seemed unaffected by Velvet's disapproval, yet in the end she could not help but smile about it. "What have you been doing out in these parts?"
"Ah, yes." The bowl was held out to her for a refill and she stood to do just that while Aifread explained with a big grin. "I'm putting a new crew together, even found a few people already."
He then motioned for the handful of people around him, first at the teens. "These there are Emil and Martha. She ran off when her old man decided she couldn't see him anymore, and he went along." Both nodded at her, the boy more shily and the girl faintly rubbing her cheek.
"The lovely over there is Judith," he introduced after that. The woman gave Velvet a measured smile where she leaned against a rock, her fitness obvious to Velvet's trained eye. "She's an outlaw 'cause she tore up some prized art pieces, I didn't ask why she hated them so much and it doesn't really matter."
Velvet was starting to see a pattern there, her eyes going to the men in the group next. "And there we have our lovely womaniser Zelos-" "I told you I'm trying to keep it down" "-my right-hand man Alvin, and Ludger." She could see that Zelos was attractive and already figured why he was out here; Alvin gave her a grin and Ludger just a nod while Aifread grinned. "I've got no idea why Ludger's here, he doesn't talk much, you know? Alvin's been a bandit longer than any of us."
"A pleasure to meet you all," she offered her own greeting to the group once their boss fell silent. "I am Velvet." She then turned back to the man she was most curious about. "I wonder, though; how long has it been since you remembered and what's your name now?"
If he was surprised by the subject change, he did not show it. The man merely shrugged. "It's just Aifread, I like the idea of building a legacy like that. I wasn't that different from the old me anyway, so my 'new' name doesn't matter. Has been a few months since it all came back to me." His expression turned brighter then, a grin finding its way back onto his face. "Just you watch, Velvet; in a few years, the world will know the name of Aifread's Bandit Crew!" He held the grin a few seconds while Martha and Emil clapped politely, but then it fell. He slumped with a sigh, looking almost crestfallen. "Oh, to hell with it! That just doesn't have the same ring as Aifread's Pirate Crew."
Velvet could not help but chuckle over how fast his mood changed. The glare he sent her over it only made her laugh harder. When she was finished, Judith gave her side a little tap with her foot. "Is it true, though?" she inquired. "The boss said it a few times, but we didn't have any way to prove he really lived so long ago. And how'd you know him back then?"
She considered the other woman who met her gaze evenly; not hostile, but curious. The others were much the same, trapped between the sheer scale of what they were told and wanting to believe nonetheless. A glance went to Aifread then. "Can this bunch keep a secret?"
Laphi sighed by her side while the man himself gave a thumbs up. "Of course we can." So, despite her brother's obvious dislike of the idea, she gave the bandits a quick rundown on hellions and resonance. It ended with the revelation that she, herself, was a hellion and thus immortal just like the seraphim. Predictably, all of this was as hard to believe as the initial claim.
"Doubt my words all you want," Aifread ultimately told his crew, "I don't care as long as you don't doubt me or our goals. It's your choice to make!"
The others made agreeing noises of some kind or other, but soon the group scattered somewhat. Velvet remained seated with Aifread and her brother, the latter of which spoke up after a while. "I'm a little confused. You take all of this in stride even though I took your free will away, made you a tool. Shouldn't you be angry at me?"
He received a long look from the aspiring bandit king, which was followed by a rough pat on the head. "First of all, that was mostly Melchior and not you. And you know, I don't give a damn, things worked out and now you're not going to do that again! Right?"
Velvet received a glance with the question, so she nodded. "If he does, he'll get another spanking."
"Fantastic! See? No reason to get worked up over the past!"
She could not help but smile at this. "I think I can see why Eizen thought so highly of you," Velvet told Aifread while Laphi tried to make sense of what he was just told. She considered the situation for a moment, then decided to take another leap. "Laphi and I are reviving the Bloodwing Butterflies." This brought her Aifread's immediate and complete attention. He knew what it meant, even before Velvet finished explaining. "We're still setting up right now, but we would gladly trade information with you once we're ready. Interested?"
Their grins were mutual now. Aifread offered his hand without further prompting. "You had me at Bloodwings, I'm in! Always pays to stay informed."
"I'll say."
"Yeah. Anyway, care to share what you two were doing out here? There's nothing much of value around, you on the way to Lohgrin?"
Velvet frowned while Laphi rooted through her pack for the map. "Isn't this the road to Horsa village?" She knew something was wrong when the chatter around them ceased at the mention of their destination. Aifread tensed up a little and grimaced, much like the bandits around them.
"I-It is," Martha finally told them in a subdued tone. She did not meet Velvet's eyes. "Or, uh, it splits into the road there, but Horsa was destroyed a month ago. Or was it two?" The girl looked between her friends, all of which shrugged.
She had no idea. Truthfully, Velvet now felt a little cold; she had torched cities herself in the past, but that was for a reason. She cast her heart in chains because it hurt too much. Now that her heart was free, she felt sad. Sad for having to return to Runette with news of her sisters' deaths. As a sister herself, she knew just how much it hurt. Even if they were estranged or rarely saw each other, the cardinal still cared about them.
"Yeah," Aifread broke the somber silence that followed Martha's words, "the village is gone and I kept us away from there. Saw a couple snake ladies from a distance, hellions." Eight heads turned to him in response and he shrugged at Velvet. "I might've been able to take 'em, but I couldn't risk the others. Hard to warn people when they can't see the danger, too."
"That makes sense." Velvet's muttered comment went mostly to herself as she thought. Runette was a lamia; even if it was a stretch to assume this to be her sisters Aifread saw, they had to check and make sure. The other Fortons may yet live.
When she looked up´, her gaze alone made quite clear what she thought. Aifread chuckled and threw her another grin. "You're going anyway. And you know what? I'm curious now, so I'll tag along." She had half a mind to refuse because he would slow them down, but the bandits immediately called out that they would follow their leader. Seeing them cheerful again, Velvet decided to let them.
Deep beneath the earth, gliding further into the depths, Innominat's main head turned to Minkkubi and rumbled at her: "These people are weird." The black dragon agreed readily.